Abstract
Economic inequality is increasing globally and in Australia. Social work and human services (SWHS) professions will be part of the response to the social consequences of this division. However, SWHS have always been contested professions, split between individualist and structural approaches to combatting the social harms of economic inequality. The recent renewal of “critical social work” raises the prospects for a more structural, reform-oriented response from SWHS practitioners to rising inequality. From a critical SWHS perspective, a basic income (BI) could provide a useful response to structural inequality, provided it is part of a redistributive policy suite and not simply a cost-saving replacement for other welfare measures. We argue, based on past and current examples, that critical SWHS could be supportive allies in campaigning for an equitable and adequate BI. This chapter highlights the potential contribution that critical SWHS workers could make in promoting the BI campaign through practitioner activism, professional advocacy and critical pedagogy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AASW. (2011). Income management position paper. Australian Association of Social Workers. https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/2213
AASW. (2012). Australian education and accreditation standards (ASWEAS) 2012 v1.4 (Rev. 2015). Canberra, ACT: AASW National Office. Retrieved from http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/3550
AASW. (2014). Australian Association of Social Workers. Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Re: Inquiry into the extent of income inequality in Australia. http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/6727
AASW. (2017). Australian education and accreditation standards (ASWEAS) May 2017 (Draft Only). North Melbourne, VIC: AASW National Office.
AASW. (2018). Australian Association of Social Workers. Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Re: Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless debit card trial expansion) Bill 2018. https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/11183
AASW Interview. (1996). Transcript of interview – Connie Benn. 50th anniversary oral history project. Australian Association of Social Workers (Victorian Branch). https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/8023
ABS. (2017). Healthcare and social assistance our largest industry. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Media Release. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbyReleaseDate/B611DFF5E8590F8ACA2581BF001F743B?OpenDocument
ACOSS. (2016). Poverty in Australia 2016, poverty and inequality in Australia. Australian Council of Social Service, in partnership with Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC), University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW. https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Poverty-in-Australia-2016.pdf
ACOSS. (2018). Inequality in Australia 2018. Australian Council of Social Services, in partnership with the University of New South Wales. https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Inequality-in-Australia-2018.pdf
ADRPFDD (Alaska Department of Revenue Permanent Fund Dividend Division). (2017). About us, State of Alaska. Juneau, AK. https://pfd.alaska.gov/Division-Info/About-Us
Baines, D., & McBride, S. (2014). Introduction: Context and fight-back. In D. Baines & S. McBride (Eds.), Orchestrating austerity: Impacts & resistance (pp. 1–8). Black Point, NS: Fernwood Publishing.
Benn, C. (1981). Attacking poverty through Participation. Bundoora, VIC: PIT.
Bowman, D., Mallett, S., & Cooney-O’Donoghue, D. (2017). Basic income: Trade-offs and bottom lines. Fitzroy, VIC: Brotherhood of St Laurence. https://www.bsl.org.au/knowledge/browse-publications/basic-income-trade-offs-and-bottom-lines/
Craik, C. (2019). ‘Practitioner perspectives’. In C. Morley, P. Ablett, & S. Macfarlane, Engaging with social work: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Credit Suisse. (2017). Global wealth report. https://www.credit-suisse.com/corporate/en/research/research-institute/global-wealth-report.html
Dahl, N. (2016). The impact of social work education on social justice practice behaviors. Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers (Paper 573). http://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/573
Drover, G., Moscovitch, A., & Mulvale, J. (2014). Promoting equity for a stronger Canada: The future of Canadian Social Policy. Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). https://www.casw-acts.ca/sites/default/files/policy_statements/promoting_equity_for_a_stonger_canada_-_the_future_of_canadian_social_policy_0.pdf
Dumont, M. (1970). The changing face of professionalism. Social Policy, 1, 26–31.
Ferguson, I. (2008). Reclaiming social work: Challenging neoliberalism and promoting social justice. London: Sage.
Ferguson, I. (2016). The new social work radicalism. Social Alternatives, 35(4), 90–95. https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=872394158068859;res=IELAPA
Forget, E. (2011). The town with no poverty: The health effects of a Canadian guaranteed annual income field experiment. Canadian Public Policy, 37(3), 283–306. http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/xj02804571g71382/fulltext.pdf
Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Fraser, H., Beddoe, L., & Ballantyne, N. (2017). ‘Is there a renaissance of radical social work?’ [online]. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(2), 1–5. https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=337733995061596;res=IELFSC
Gilley, T. (1990). Empowering poor people: A consumer view of the family centre project. Melbourne, VIC: Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Goldberg, G. (2012). Economic inequality and economic crisis: A challenge for social workers. Social Work, 57(3), 211–224.
Gray, M., & Webb, S. (2013). The new politics of social work. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Greenslade, L., McAuliffe, D., & Chenowith, L. (2015). Social workers’ experiences of covert workplace activism. Australian Social Work, 68(4), 422–437.
Habibis, D., & Walter, M. (2015). Social inequality in Australia: Discourses, realities and futures. South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Hanesworth, C. (2017). Neoliberal influences on American higher education and the consequences for social work programmes. Critical and Radical Social Work, 5(1), 41–57.
Healy, B. (1993). Elements in the development of an Australian radical social work. Australian Social Work, 46(1), 3–8.
Heisz, A. (2016). Trends in income inequality in Canada and elsewhere. In D. A. Green, W. C. Riddell, & F. St-Hillaire (Eds.), Income inequality: The Canadian story (pp. 77–102). Montreal, PQ: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Hill, J., Toft, K., Garrett, K., Ferguson, S., & Kuechler, C. (2016). Assessing clinical MSW students’ attitudes, attributions, and responses to poverty. Journal of Poverty, 20(4), 396–416.
Horton, C. (2014). Social workers “should be more political in tackling inequality. The Guardian, Social Care Network. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/jul/09/social-workersmore-political-inequality
Hosken, N. (2016). Social work, class and the structural violence of poverty. In B. Pease, S. Goldingay, N. Hosken, & S. Nipperess (Eds.), Doing critical social work: Transformative practices for social justice. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Hyndman, B., & Simon, L. (2015, October). Basic income guarantee backgrounder. Ontario Public Health Association. http://www.opha.on.ca/getmedia/bf22640d-120c-46db-ac69-315fb9aa3c7c/alPHa-OPHA-HEWG-Basic-Income-Backgrounder-Final-Oct-2015.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf. Accessed 22 July 2016.
IMF. (2017, October). IMF fiscal monitor: Tackling inequality. http://www.imf.org/en/publications/fm/issues/2017/10/05/fiscal-monitor-october-2017
Jones, D., & Marinescu, I. (2018). The labor market impacts of universal and permanent cash transfers: Evidence from the Alaska permanent fund (NBER Working paper no. 24312). http://www.nber.org/papers/w24312.pdf
Keen, S. (1996). Non-profit organisations and public policy: Exploring the research role of the brotherhood of St Laurence (Working Paper 67). Program on Nonprofit Corporations. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/53417/. Accessed 12 Aug 2017.
Kennelly, C. (2017). Universal basic income guarantee: The next ‘BIG’ thing in Canadian Social Policy. Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). Ottawa. Ontario. https://www.casw-acts.ca/sites/casw-acts.ca/files/attachements/universal_basic_income_guarantee_-the_next_big_thing_in_canadian_social_policy_0.pdf
Klein, E. (2016). Universal basic income. Arena Magazine, 142(6), 6–8.
Krumer-Nevo, M. (2015). Poverty aware social work: A paradigm for social work practice with people in poverty. British Journal of Social Work, 46(6), 1793–1808.
Leigh, A. (2013). Battlers and billionaires: The story of inequality in Australia. Melbourne, VIC: Redback.
Lengermann, P., & Niebrugge, G. (2018). Settlement sociology. In A. Treviño (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of social problems (pp. 185–202). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108656184.012
Lorenz, W. (2016). Rediscovering the social question. European Journal of Social Work, 19(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2015.1082984
Macdonald, D. (2018). Born to win: Wealth concentration in Canada since 1999. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2018/07/Born%20to%20Win.pdf
Marston, G. (2014). Welfare for some, illfare for others: The social policy agenda of the Abbott government. Australian Review of Public Affairs. October. Available at: www.australianreview.net/digest/2014/10/marston.html
Marston, G., & McDonald, C. (2008). Feeling motivated yet? Long-term unemployed people’s perspectives on the implementation on workfare Australia. The Australian Journal of Social Issues, 43(2), 255–269.
Marston, G., McDonald, C., & Bryson, L. (2014). The Australian welfare state: Who benefits now? South Yarra, VIC: Palgrave Macmillan.
Mays, J., Marston, G., & Tomlinson, J. (Eds.). (2016). Basic income in Australian and New Zealand: Perspectives from the neoliberal frontier. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Mendes, P. (2009). Tracing the origins of critical social work practice. In J. Allan, L. Briskman, & B. Pease (Eds.), Critical social work: Theories and practices for a socially just world (2nd ed., pp. 17–29). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Mitchell, W. (2015, February 24). Punishment dished out to unemployed is on par with our treatment of refugees. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/24/punishment-dishedout-to-unemployed-is-on-par-with-our-treatment-ofrefugees?CMP=soc_568
Moniz, C. (2018). Social workers and policy practice: Affecting policy and achieving policy action. In C. Moniz & S. Gorin (Eds.), Behavioral and mental health care policy and practice. New York: Routledge.
Morley, C., & Ablett, P. (2016a). The renewal of critical social work. Social Alternatives, 35(4), 3–6.
Morley, C., & Ablett, P. (2016b). A critical social work response to wealth and income inequality. Social Alternatives, 35(4), 20–26.
Morley, C., & Ablett, P. (2017). Rising wealth and income inequality in Australia and New Zealand: A radical social work critique and response. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 29(2), 6–18.
Morley, C., Ablett, P., & Macfarlane, S. (2019). Engaging with social work: A critical introduction (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Morley, C., Macfarlane, S., & Ablett, P. (2017). The neoliberal colonisation of social work education: A critical analysis and practices for resistance. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 19(2), 25–40.
Mullaly, B. (2010). Challenging oppression and confronting privilege: A critical approach to anti-oppressive and anti-privilege theory and practice (2nd ed.). Toronto, ON: Oxford University press.
Mulvale, J. (2008). Basic income and the Canadian welfare state: Exploring the realms of possibility. Basic Income Studies, 3(1), 1–25.
Noble, C., Pease, B., & Ife, J. (Eds.). Radicals in Australian social work: Stories of lifelong activism. Redlands Bay, QLD: ConnorCourt Publishing.
O’Brien, M. (2011). Equality and fairness: Linking social justice and social work practice. Journal of Social Work, 11(2), 143–158.
Oxfam. (2018). Reward work, not wealth: To end the inequality crisis, we must build an economy for ordinary working people, not the rich and powerful.https://d1tn3vj7xz9fdh.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/file_attachments/bp-reward-work-not-wealth-220118-en.pdf
Parrott, L. (2014). Social work and poverty: A critical approach. Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
Pasma, C. (2014). Basic income programs and pilots. Ottawa, ON: Basic Income Canada Network. http://www.niagaraknowledgeexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/05/Basic_Income_Programs_and_Pilots.pdf
Pease, B. (2013). A history of critical and radical social work. In M. Gray & S. Webb (Eds.), The new politics of social work. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pease, B., Goldingay, S., Hosken, N., & Nipperess, S. (2016). Doing critical social work: Transformative practices for social justice. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
Perry, B. (2014). Household incomes in New Zealand: Trends in indicators of inequality and hardship 1982 to 2013. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Social Development.
Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the twenty-first century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Richardson, D., & Denniss R. (2014). Income and wealth inequality in Australia (Policy Brief No. 64). Canberra, ACT: Australia Institute. Retrieved from http://www.tai.org.au/system/files_force/PB+64+Income+and+wealth+inequality+FINAL.pdf
Ruckert, A., Huynh, C., & Labonté, R. (2018). Reducing health inequities: Is universal basic income the way forward? Journal of Public Health, 40(1), 3–7. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdx006
Rupaleem, B., Raluca, B., & Daphne, J. (2017). Social workers’ perspectives on social justice in social work education: When mainstreaming social justice masks structural inequalities. Social Work Education, 36(4), 373–390.
Santens, S. (2016). Inequality and the basic income guarantee. In C. Oestereich (Ed.), What do we do about inequality? Wicked Commons Collaborative. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. https://medium.com/basic-income/inequality-and-the-basic-income-guarantee-c8f84d936640
Basic Income. (2018) Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology. Retrieved from https://www.qut.edu.au/health/about/schools/school-of-public-health-and-social-work/basic-income
Sheil, C. (2017). The cutting edge of inequality. Evatt Foundation, News. Retrieved from https://evatt.org.au/news/cutting-edge-inequality.html
Standing, G. (2014). The precariat: The new dangerous class. London: Bloomsbury.
Standing, G. (2017). Basic income: And how we can make it happen. London: Penguin.
Stanford, J. (2018). Wages crisis has obvious solutions. The Australia Institute. Opinion. http://www.tai.org.au/content/wages-crisis-has-obvious-solutions
Stuart, P. (2013). Social work profession: History. In Encyclopedia of social work. Oxford, UK: NASW Press/Oxford University Press. Retrieved 7 September, 2018, from http://socialwork.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-623
Webb, S. (2010). (Re)Assembling the left: The politics of redistribution and recognition in social work. British Journal of Social Work, 40(8), 2364–2379.
Weinberg, M. (2008). Structural social work: A moral compass for ethics in practice. Critical Social Work, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www1.uwindsor.ca/criticalsocialwork/structural-social-work-a-moral-compass-for-ethics-in-practice
WID. (2018). World inequality report 2018. World Inequality Database. https://wir2018.wid.world/
Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2010). The spirit level: Why equality is better for everyone. Hammondsworth, UK: Penguin.
Wright, E. (2005, March 4–6). Basic income as a socialist project. Paper presented at the Annual US-BIG Congress. https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/Basic%20Income%20as%20a%20Socialist%20Project.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ablett, P., Morley, C., Newcomb, M. (2019). Social Work, Human Services and Basic Income. In: Klein, E., Mays, J., Dunlop, T. (eds) Implementing a Basic Income in Australia. Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14378-7_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14378-7_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14377-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14378-7
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)