A brief analysis of social work as marketization

A brief analysis of social work as marketization

Introduction: In terms of social work training and education, the American Association of Schools of Social Work was established in 1919 and promulgated the Social Work Education in 1932 minimum courses. Since then, the association has successively formulated some important educational policies and redefined the basic knowledge of social work.

1. Social work is an extension of government functions

In 1947, when the United Nations surveyed the situation of social work education in various countries, it received comments on social work from 33 countries. 33 different definitions. To a certain extent, this reflects background differences and different understandings of social work in different countries. Tian Sen, chairman of the China Contemporary Social Research Center, believes that social work is: a science that studies how to help people, how to protect the basic life rights of all members of society, and promote social stability and development. ? Others believe that social work is a specialized profession that aims to help people and uses various professional knowledge, skills and methods to solve social problems. It is an important system to ensure the harmony and stability of modern society. Since the 1860s, social work has always paid attention to vulnerable groups and focused on solving social problems. This determines the similarities between social work and government functions.

Today, social work has developed into a professional activity of helping people and helping themselves based on values ??and practices. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security promulgated the ninth batch of national occupational standards in May 2011, and social work was included in the catalog of Chinese occupational standards for the first time. The occupational definition of social workers is: following the value concept of helping people to help themselves, using cases, groups, and communities , administrative and other professional methods to help institutions and others realize their potential, coordinate social relations, and promote social justice as professional social service personnel. Therefore, the main purpose and function of this professional activity is to coordinate social relations.

The administrative functions of the government are relatively stable. However, the connotation and extension of the functions will change with changes in tasks and requirements. The content of the functions, the techniques for exercising them, and the management methods should also adapt to the situation and services. It may vary depending on changes in objects and service content. No matter how the government functions change, social management is indispensable. Where the government's social management cannot go deep, social work acts as a spontaneous supplement to government functions. We need to establish an efficient small government, and some social problems must be solved by society itself under the guidance of the government.

The Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences of Guangdong Province submitted a report on the reform of social undertakings and social management system in Shenzhen during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period at the Second Standing Committee of the Fourth CPPCC National Committee on November 5, 2005. The research report? recommends that Shenzhen abolish street offices, strengthen community autonomy functions, and cultivate and develop community service entities, intermediary organizations, and professional social work institutions. Administrative matters are handed over to the functional departments of the district government, socialization functions are handed over to the community, and public welfare services are handed over to professional community workers. This report fully reflects that under the conditions of market economy in the new era, social work will become an extension of government functions.

2. The value and ethical basis of social work

The social basis of social work is a contract society.

The theoretical origin of modern contract government can be traced back to the concept of natural law in ancient Greece and Rome: Thucydides said through Pericles, "We obey the law itself, especially those that protect the oppressed." Laws, those laws that are not written down, but are considered a shame if violated. The so-called "laws themselves" and "laws that are not written down" actually refer to natural law. Medieval Christian theology identified natural law with God. As Paul said, all power comes from God. Augustine's theology is characterized by the confrontation between God's "divine law", that is, natural law, and man-made law. Aquinas believed that the divine reason and its eternal laws that humans share from God are natural law. In this way, natural law will be unified with human reason. Human beings have rationality and can consciously accept the guidance and jurisdiction of God, that is, they can recognize natural law. Therefore, they have the conditions to assume moral responsibilities and perform moral obligations. To some extent, this is the forerunner of the modern concept of natural law. There are many schools of modern legal science, but most of them believe in the power of reason, focus on individuals or society, and emphasize rights and obligations. John Locke's concept basically represents the mainstream view of modern natural law theory: natural law is based on human reason, confirms and protects people's natural rights, and infringing on people's natural rights means violating natural law. Everyone has the ability to prevent and the legitimate power to sanction such violations of natural law. They advocate "natural human rights" and freedom and equality, and advocate freedom of contract and the inviolability of private property. The natural law school directly produced the French Declaration of Human Rights, the American Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Napoleonic Code, the Austrian Civil Code of 1811, the German Civil Code of 1896, the Swiss Civil Code of 1907, etc. Modern contract government is based on the understanding of natural law.

In the 18th century, Rousseau's "Social Contract" first proposed the concept of social contract. After the United States became independent, it formulated the world's first constitution based on the idea of ??"Social Contract."

According to the social contract theory, the government is the people's compromise with each other to protect their freedom and rights, giving up some of their rights and handing them over to the government. So the rights of individuals are the obligations of the government. Paying attention to vulnerable groups and protecting the survival rights of each individual should naturally become part of the government's functions. It is in this sense that social work can become an extension of government functions.

Rousseau firmly believes that free people are the only foundation of the republican system. When the government takes control of the rights that people have given up, we must ensure that the government does not abuse this power, does not put itself above the people, and uses the power that the people have volunteered to implement tyranny and deprive the people of other rights. This is society. The fundamental problem that the contract is to solve. Rousseau said: The better the country's system, the more important public matters will be in the minds of citizens than private matters. Rousseau also said that once someone says "What does this have to do with me" about national affairs, the country can be considered lost. Therefore, only free citizens are the prerequisite for the establishment and legality of the social contract. Because of the contract, the people have become citizens. Free citizens must not only protect and defend their own rights, but also be responsible for the rights of others and to society. This responsibility manifests itself in the defense of human rights. If a person violates the freedom and rights of others, he cannot protect his own freedom and rights. Not infringing on the freedom and rights of others is a defense of human rights in a negative sense. In a positive sense, it means limiting the power of the government and taking a proactive approach to actively defend the freedoms and rights of all people. In this way, social work will have an ethical foundation and value basis. Assistance to vulnerable groups reflects the defense of others' freedom and right to survival.

In the Christian tradition, love for people is out of responsibility and obligation to God. If according to the modern naturalistic point of view, reason, God and natural rights are unified, then whether it is from Christian ethics Whether starting from the concept of fraternity under a utilitarian framework or starting from rights and obligations under a utilitarian framework, social work embodies the laws of nature and the obligations and responsibilities of citizens based on rationality.

3. Social work is a market-oriented ethical behavior

However, not everyone can become a social worker, and social work becoming a profession is also the result of social division of labor. Under the conditions of a market economy with a high degree of social division of labor, social work is not only an ethical behavior, but also a market behavior.

China’s dynastic government is an ethical government. The only representative of the government, the emperor, plays the role of the head of the family. The chief executives of local governments at all levels also play the role of the head of the family; social behavior occurs Among various families, families and individuals belong to different families at the same time due to various kinship relationships. For example, a man can be a descendant of family A and a son-in-law of family B. He can also become a relative of family C due to his brother's in-law relationship. Even groups that emerge due to different circumstances, different means of livelihood, or different economic contacts, such as beggars, porters, or salt merchants, first belong to a certain family and spontaneously Groups and gangs are formed in a family-like manner. Since the meaning of ethics has expanded after the introduction of the concept of Western ethics, a society with family ethics as its main feature can be called an ethical society.

In ancient China, independent social work did not exist. Large households or monasteries also have charity activities similar to social work, but their essence is a single accidental relief. As for organizations such as township societies, they only help each other. In an ethical society, everyone is responsible, and primarily responsible, for their own family members. Help for disadvantaged individuals and social welfare affairs are all carried out within the family in an ethical manner, so it is impossible to produce specialized social work.

Under the planned economic system, the ethical responsibility of the family to the individual is replaced by the ethical responsibility of the state to the individual. Therefore, in essence, the society of the planned economic system is still an ethical society. The government has assumed all obligations and responsibilities. Therefore, there will be no dedicated social workers.

In an ethical society, each individual has responsibilities and obligations to the family or the collective, but is not responsible for the freedom and rights of other individuals. In theory, there is no weak person in an ethical society, because everyone's freedom and rights belong to the family or the collective, and therefore are the same. Just like a family will try to ensure that every member has food, clothing and clothing, and every member has to take responsibility for the family, and this responsibility does not change due to differences in individual abilities. Everyone only needs to do their best. Try your best to do whatever you can. The individual and the collective are absolutely unified.

But this is only a theoretical situation. Differences and conflicts between individuals cannot be easily ignored and eliminated as in theory. This difference and conflict will eventually lead to the opposition between the special will and the general will, and the separation of the collective and the people.

The market economic system assumes equal and free individuals who are independent of the government. Because the operation of the market economy first recognizes the individual's right to control property, secondly recognizes the exchange and circulation of personal needs, and finally clarifies the rights and obligations between individuals and the government through taxation, and the effective operation of economic life requires individuals to mutual responsibilities and obligations. In this way, the conditions for the birth of social work are met, and ethical behavior becomes an object that can be bought and sold.

Social work came into being.

Only in a contract society, free citizens, as the basis of the social contract, have the responsibility for the freedom and rights of other individuals; only under the conditions of a market economy, such responsibilities and obligations can be divided into way to become a profession. Therefore, social work is a market-oriented ethical behavior.

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