The first part of this book explores five different ideological perspectives or ‘lenses’ and analyses how these influence practice through both government policy and other mechanisms (such as the media). Throughout this volume, the authors refer to political ideology, and this refers to the perspectives or sets of beliefs that have developed into a specific political perspective. This political ideological position then filters the way that people who subscribe to it perceive the world. In relation to social work and social care, this includes opinions on all aspects of society, for example the role of welfare, education, government, employment and the criminal justice system.

Confusion can arise when discussing political ideology in terms of the mainstream political parties both internationally and in the UK, particularly in England and Wales, as the names of the main parties, for example Conservative and Liberal Democrat can indicate an affinity with a specific political ideology. Often, these links are very loose, and/or historic in nature. For example, the current Conservative Party can be seen to have beliefs that align closely with a neoliberal, rather than traditional conservative, ideological perspective. This can lead to divisions between members of political parties. For this book, it is important to be aware that capital letters denote reference to political parties throughout, whereas lower case indicates the ideological perspective.

Social work and political ideology

Social work is an inherently political profession (Fook, 2016); practitioners are often employed by local authorities and other organisations that are funded by government and required to ensure the safety of those who are deemed to be vulnerable or ‘at risk’. In fields such as child protection (discussed in Chapter 7) and mental health (discussed in Chapter 8), this tension is explicitly played out via the legal duty to act as a protector to those the practitioner works with, often having to implement interventions against the will of the individuals and families they support. Simultaneously, social workers are driven by, and committed to, a set of values that include but are not limited to social justice, empowerment, honesty, integrity and respect (BASW, 2014). This disconnect between the expectation to operate on behalf of the state and also to value and respect the rights of individuals is often referred to as ‘care versus control’.