Introduction

This chapter is not intended to be a complete history of social work practice with adults – comprehensive historical accounts can be found elsewhere. Rather, this is an attempt to explore how social work practice has reflected and been influenced by politics and ideology since 1945. It hardly needs saying that British society has undergone a complete transformation since 1945 and the social work practice which takes place in this society has been transformed with it. This chapter will provide some of the background to practice: the prevailing political ideologies of these times.

Harris (2008) states that ‘changes to social work are never purely professional matters. They always connect with wider social, economic and political currents.’ In some sense, you might say, the history of political ideology from 1945 onwards demonstrates how social work came to be shaped in the way that it has been. Social work does not take place in a vacuum but in a living, dynamic society. Examining the course of what has taken place in that society since 1945 helps us to move towards an understanding of our current position and will also, hopefully, encourage critique. We certainly don't wish to denigrate the undoubted successes and advances of 1945 but, as Hall ([1960] 2017) beautifully illustrates, ‘If we find an old people's home where there are carpets on the floor, we think – ‘Good: this is what it should be like.’ But is it? Suppose we stopped and asked ‘Is that good enough? Is that what old age should look like for the thousands in our institutions?’’ There is no place for complacency, and we believe that the critique of the welfare state is in some senses the critique of social work which takes place within its borders. Should we, as social workers, ask for further-reaching and comprehensive change to society, or to settle with what we are given?

We will explore how developments in policy and legislation reflect dominant ideology (for instance, the individuating effect of the Care Act 2014) in the era of neoliberalism and contrive to produce potentially positive impacts for service users that move away from the universal approach of the welfare state.