Neo-liberalism, social exclusion and welfare clients in a global economy

Globalization has played a major role in redefining the nature of the welfare state and the ways in which social work practice is being undertaken in a number of different countries. Moreover, its impact has been to exacerbate gendered and racialized social relations. In this article, I explore the changes that globalization has wrought on the social work profession. These have resulted in neo-liberialist policies that have contributed to the realization of a purchaser-provider split in service delivery, the commodification of inter-personal relationships embodied in caring work and the creation of a technicist cadre to deal with vulnerable people in need. I conclude by arguing that social workers need to engage in a public debate which challenges this state of affairs and form alliances with clients, professional associations, trade unions, politicians and other professional groupings in order to set a new welfare agenda which replaces profit-making with social justice to ensure that needs-led assessments and people are at the heart of their professional remit.