ISJ Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
From International Socialism, No.23, Winter 1965/66, p.32.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.
Social Work and Social Change
Eileen Younghusband
Allen & Unwin, 21s.
Dr Younghusband holds a formidable number of top positions in the field of social work and has given her name to a government report on the subject; in spite of this her book does not amount to the very deep analysis of the situation which the title would suggest. This is partly because the book is a collection of papers, given by the author to a variety of congresses and meetings throughout the world. Thus there is bound to be repetition and lack of depth. Most of the essays deal specifically with the profession of social work, the place of casework in training, the philosophy of social work, and so on. There is one original essay which gives the book its title. In it Dr Younghusband makes a plea for the social worker to use an imaginative approach which will enable her to perceive unrecognised social need which is all too present in an era of rapid social change. This ability to ‘see’ the problem must be reinforced by a systematic use of research, the results of which should then, and only then, be translated into operational terms either at central or local level. There should also be an evaluation of the consequences and effectiveness of the services offered, for ‘We are all too apt, both in public and voluntary services, to be content to do the job and fulfill the administrative requirements, and because we intend the results to be good therefore ipso facto they must be good.’ These sentiments and proposals are fine but unfortunately we know that social policy is too firmly enmeshed in the fabric of politics for any government to take much notice of objective research findings. And even when they do, ‘public opinion’ must favour the changes which are usually couched in ‘common sense’ terms anyway. As the social worker often has detailed knowledge of the social conditions and pressures involved in being a member of our society, it is to be hoped that she will use her position to change and alter rather than ameliorate the system.
ISJ Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
Last updated on 8.10.2007