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• Challenges, Opportunities and Resilience in Contemporary Practice

  Walter Lorenz

  Views:

  223

  This paper examines the evolution of social work as a profession within the context of changing socio-political landscapes. Through critical analysis of historical developments and contemporary challenges, it explores how neoliberal ideologies have fundamentally transformed the conceptualization of "the social" and consequently altered the practice and perception of social work. The research investigates the tension between technical-managerial approaches and relationship-based practices in social work, highlighting the profession's struggle to maintain its core values amid political and economic pressures. The paper argues for a re-politicization of social work practice as essential for its continued relevance and effectiveness, proposing a framework that reaffirms social work's commitment to fostering meaningful human connections and addressing structural inequalities. This analysis contributes to ongoing scholarly discourse on the future direction of social work in increasingly complex and polarized societies.

• Spencer és az informális gondozás

  Gabriella Szirbik

  Views:

  247

  This paper takes stock of the welfare-related views of the great 19th century philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer. Following the British sociologist John Offer, who has been at the forefront of research on Spencer's oeuvre, the main elements of Spencer's welfare pluralism, embedded in his organic social theory, are presented. An attempt is made to show that social conceptions based on different epistemologies are not logically compatible, with exclusionary consequences. This is why Spencer's ideas on welfare have long been parked in sociological and socio-political thought. And the reason for its perceptible revival is the epistemological change in thinking about society. The consequences of this can be felt in several ways. On the one hand, in the emergence of informal care theory and practice, and in the research potential of social policy, and on the other hand, in the philosophical background behind the amendment of the Hungarian Social Law of 2022.