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Conclusion: Towards a Marxist Politics for Social Work

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Social Work Practice Under Capitalism

Part of the book series: Critical Texts in Social Work and the Welfare State ((CTSWWS))

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Abstract

We started this book by emphasising the difficulties inherent in both a Marxist theory and practice, and a social work theory and practice; in the bulk of the book we have tried to show the possibility of the beginnings of a Marxist practice within social work in the United Kingdom in 1970s. In all of this we have tried to emphasise the possibilities of action rather than the difficulties or blocks to action. Such an emphasis is a political choice, deliberately carried out to destroy the crippling fatalism that occurs amongst those who are working within the capitalist State in Britain, and is meant to provide hope for movement today and tomorrow, amongst a group of workers who have been led to believe that Marxism cannot provide any such guidelines for change.

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References

  1. K. Marx, ‘Third Thesis on Feuerbach’, in Marx and Engels Selected Works (Lawrence & Wishart, 1968) p. 28.

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  2. K. Marx and F. Engels, ‘The Communist Manifesto’, in Selected Works, op. cit., p. 44.

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  3. V. I. Lenin, ‘What is to be done?’, in Selected Works, vol. I, p. 227.

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  4. See Hilary Rose, ‘Claimants’ Unions’, in Socialist Register 1973, eds R. Miliband and J. Savile (Merlin Press, 1973).

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  5. See, for example, S. Jacobs, ‘Community Action in a Glasgow Clearance Area’, in Sociology of Community Action, ed. P. Leonard (Keele, 1975).

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  6. P. Marris and M. Rein, Dilemmas in Social Reform (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967).

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  7. A. Gramsci, Prison Notebooks (Lawrence & Wishart, 1971).

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  8. Ibid., pp. 5 and 6.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic of North London, UK

    Paul Corrigan (Head of Applied Social Studies)

  2. University of Warwick, UK

    Peter Leonard (Professor of Applied Social Studies)

Authors
  1. Paul Corrigan
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  2. Peter Leonard
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Copyright information

© 1978 Paul Corrigan and Peter Leonard

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Corrigan, P., Leonard, P. (1978). Conclusion: Towards a Marxist Politics for Social Work. In: Social Work Practice Under Capitalism. Critical Texts in Social Work and the Welfare State. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15879-9_13

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