W(h)ither social work? Social work,social policy and law at an interface: Confronting the challenges and realising the potential in work with people needing care or services

Conclusion Social work asks of us all awkward questions, particularly since we are all members of the systems about which we are developing a critical knowledge base. This paper argues that social work, on the basis of a policy and political literacy, must engage in influencing higher levels of context. That is, it must engage with managers and policy makers about the objectives of welfare policy and the means by which they are to be realised — about issues of relevance to service users and to practice. This paper also suggests that other professional groups face the same awkward questions and must similarly engage in debates about the meaning of welfare, justice and rights. If social work in particular, and professional groups with which it interacts, lose the ability or willingness to question, they risk losing the empathy, values and practice skills which seek to counter the inequalities, internalised oppressions, alienation, and exclusion characteristic of contemporary social life. They risk identifying with the aggressor rather than using their position to promote an empowering difference.