On the political
(and economical) level we are experiencing a prolonged crisis. Neo-liberal
regime has come to impasse, and it does not seem to see the way out. The crisis
even more pronounced since it is coinciding with, if not causing, environmental
degradation, disasters, armed conflicts and massive migration. The social impacts of austerity and
the concurrent crisis are devastating – increasing number of people poor,
vulnerable people (children, old) exposed – in need of basic safety and care.
The crisis has undermined the social reproduction, ‘generations are lost’
(young people without education and future prospects) and old people are marginalised.
People have been tried, often beyond their resilience.
International and national policies are
slow[1],
cumbersome and inefficient to deal with the crisis (e.g. refugees), with no
imagination how to change or to adapt to new situation. Resources for
engagement in crisis are limited, often misspent. Cost of social expenditure is
both cut down and misused on running not very efficient programmes in terms of
helping people.[2]
Sometimes quite contrary, people are being punished for their needs, and social
work practitioners criminalised for their work. Trust in government and in
social covenant is lost.
Ethics in
crisis is essential, it is a response to it. Social work is more than ever
under an ethical stress of contradiction between security, solidarity and
freedom – between caring and liberating. This dilemma is practically resolvable
in social work dance in actual work (Flaker, 2006). However, it is politically
translated in organisational reality into the basic contradiction of control
and liberation of the actual provision of services. On the political level, the
new ideas of community and solidarity seem to inspire resolution – new
solidarity in the fight for social justice across time and space (Stubbs, 2016),
a new community based, appreciative transcultural planetary citizenship.
Ecology and feminism point to oppression of women, indigenous nations,
wildlife, to erosion of resources as result of neoliberal regimes and provide
directions of action (Napan & Oak, 2016). Safeguarding children’s rights,
championing inclusion and fighting exclusion seem to be ethical imperatives of
today, thus and by creating social sustainability and social consciousness,
which becomes a societal task and ethical duty. Ownership of common goods in
order to gain influence over the future is an integral part of new ethics
(Stubbs, 2016; Maple & Kurnik, 2012).
Appropriation
of the common good is one of postulates of new social movements of today. Tools
political tools of new movements are protests, plenums and claiming social
justice (Stubbs, 2015, 2016). There are transnational movements against
austerity and gaining representation in the institutional politics.
Institutions are challenged also on the grounds of various human rights
declarations and demanded is the implementation, e.g. UN Convention of
Children’s Rights, in national legislation and in protection, care and
education of children in war and other crises.
While the
movements on the streets have moved from particular issues to universal
questions of the future society, classic social work movements for particular
minority groups or issues need to find the way into this broader picture.
Direct social work (Slovenia) has produced, for example Programme of bailing out the people (instead of banks) (Flaker,
2012).
Involvement
of social work in the new political arena (however unclear its organisation and
agenda might be) if social work is to be re-owned once again by its actors, is
essential and it has to base the mandate within the movements and communities. The particularistic movements have its potential on the molecular
level of ideas and images, formulating the non-exclusion imperative and
practices of inclusion. By its professional power, if social work is involved,
they can instigate policy and practice transfer between different jurisdictions
and internationally in order to promote more human practices, and by participation and empowerment
strategies they can foster social cohesion and sustainability.
References
Flaker, V.
(2006) 'Social work as a science of doing: in the praise of a minor profession'
in Von der Idee zur Forschungsarbeit: Forschen in Sozialarbeit und
Sozialwissenschaft, V. Flaker & T. Schmid, T. eds Böhlau Verlag, Wien.
Flaker, V.@Boj za (2012) Direktno socialno delo (Direct social work),
Ljubljana: Založba /*cf.
Flaker, V. (2016) ' Social work is
the art of remaining human in the inhuman conditions’, Dialogue in Praxis (Ethics of Inclusion – special issue), vol. 5,
no. 1. (forthcoming).
Maple, R. & Kurnik, A. (2012)
'The Occupy Movement in Žižek’s hometown: Direct democracy and a politics of
becoming', American Ethnologist, vol.
29, no. 2, May 2012, pp. 238–258.
Napan, K. & Oak, E. (2016) ‘Inquiring
into the Spirit of Social Work’, Dialogue
in Praxis (Ethics of Inclusion – special issue), vol. 5, no. 1.
(forthcoming).
Stubbs, P. (2016) ‘Resistance in
Austerity Times: Social policy, social work and social movements in crisis
conditions’, Dialogue in Praxis (Ethics
of Inclusion – special issue), vol. 5, no. 1. (forthcoming).
[1] Deinstitutionalisation is internationally accepted policy, but still
millions of people interned.
[2] Criminal justice for children provides not fully legitimate,
ineffective, stigmatising, and often even in the short run costly interventions
instead of child-friendly, diversionary, positive approaches, which have more
positive effects and are more cost-efficient, especially in the long run.
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