Reclaiming Social Policy

This book re-evaluates the importance of social policies in shaping well-being and combating exclusion, and enhances understanding of how these policies are formed in a globalizing world. It emphasises the context- and path-dependence of patterns and policies of inclusion and exclusion, and provides a framework for supporting social policy making.

Reclaiming Social Work is a thought-provoking and innovative book which examines how social work′s commitment to social justice has been deepened and enriched by its contact with wider social movements. It explores the tensions between social work values and a market-driven agenda, and locates new resources of hope for the social work profession in the developing resistance to managerialism. The book: " discusses pertinent social work issues such as inequality and risk, the voluntary sector, and service-user involvement " examines values such as democracy, solidarity, accountability, participation, justice, equality, liberty and diversity " is written in an accessible style, drawing on diverse examples to illustrate theoretical concepts. Reclaiming Social Work is an accessible yet challenging book and will be essential reading for all social work students and practitioners wanting to think outside the boundaries of their profession. The book will be particularly helpful to students taking courses in anti-oppressive practice, social work values, social work theories and concepts, and international social work. Iain Ferguson is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Stirling. Previous publications include Rethinking Welfare: A Critical Perspective (SAGE, 2002, co-authored with Michael Lavalette and Gerry Mooney); Globalisation, Global Justice and Social Work (Routledge, 2004, co-edited with Michael Lavalette and Elizabeth Whitmore); and International Social Work and the Radical Tradition (Venture Press, 2007, co-edited with Michael Lavalette).

The rise of populism is usually attributed by commentators to either income inequality or culture wars. We are witnessing, they argue, either the displaced anger of the 99% or the revenge of the ‘deplorables’ against the ‘liberal elite’. They are wrong. In this forensic book, Eric Protzer and Paul Summerville argue that populism is actually a response to a profound sense that many of the world’s leading economies are unfair. They show that in meritocratic countries, such as Australia, Canada, Portugal, and Japan, populism has not taken root. In contrast, the countries that have been hit by the worst populist upheavals - like the US, UK, France, and Italy – have low social mobility. The way to address populism is to restore the connection between contribution and reward and craft a politics that reclaims the reasonable grievances that drive populism while discarding its false diagnoses and toxic ‘solutions’. Reclaiming Populism is a must-read for policy-makers, scholars and citizens who want to understand the crises of our age and bring disenchanted populist voters back into the fold of liberal democracy.

Reclaiming Knowledge asserts the necessity of a strong view of knowledge for a robust sociology of knowledge, for both researching the curriculum and developing policy. Divided into four sections or investigations, the central question underlying this book is how, in a world of uncertainty and challenge, do we develop a responsible knowledge practice?

Reclaiming Latin America is a one-stop guide to the revival of social democratic and socialist politics across the region. At the end of the Cold War, and through decades of neoliberal domination and the 'Washington Consensus' it seemed that the left could do nothing but beat a ragged retreat in Latin America. Yet this book looks at the new opportunities that sprang up through electoral politics and mass action during that period. The chapters here warn against over-simplification of the so-called 'pink wave'. Instead, through detailed historical analysis of Latin America as a whole and country-specific case studies, the book demonstrates the variety of approaches to establishing a lasting social justice. From the anti-imperialism of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas in Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba, to the more gradualist routes being taken in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, Reclaiming Latin America gives a real sense of the plurality of political responses to popular discontent.

The authors of this book challenge prevailing ideas about free markets and globalization. They question whether globalization is a technological reality that cannot be stopped and ask if the US economy really outperformed its competitors in the 1990s. They show how in each key area--trade and industrial policy, privatization, intellectual property rights, investment and financial policies, exchange rate and currency policy, labour and social welfare --there are alternatives to neoliberal policies that the historical experience of particular countries prove really works.

Social policy shapes the daily lives of every Canadian citizen and should reflect the beliefs of a majority of Canadians on just approaches to the promotion of health, safety, and well-being. Too often, those on the front lines—social workers, nurses, and teachers—observe that policies do not work well for the most vulnerable groups in society. In the first part of this new edition of Canadian Social Policy, Westhues and Wharf argue that service deliverers have discretion in how policies are implemented, and the exercise of this discretion is how citizens experience policy—whether or not it is fair and reasonable. They show the reader how social policy is made and they encourage active citizenship to produce policies that are more socially just. New material includes an examination of the reproduction of systemic racism through the implementation of human rights policy and a comparative analysis of the policy-making process in Quebec and English Canada. The second part of the book discusses policy issues currently under debate in Canada. Included are new chapters that explore parental leave policies and housing as a determinant of health. All chapters contain newly updated statistical data and research and policy analysis. A reworked section on the process of policy-making and the addition of questions for critical reflection enhance the suitability of the book as a core resource in social policy courses. The final chapter explores how front-line workers in the human services can advocate for change in organizational policies that will benefit the people supported.