CRITICAL SOCIAL WORK THEORIES

Running head: CRITICAL SOCIAL WORK THEORIES
CRITICAL SOCIAL WORK THEORIES
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CRITICAL SOCIAL WORK THEORIES1
Introduction
Critical theory is regarded as the reflective evaluation and analysis of societal
activities and cultural patterns by using knowledge from wide range of social sciences in
order to explore and encounter power structures. Critical theory refers to social theory that is
oriented towards critiquing and bringing changes to the society as a whole. However, in the
view of Schmid (2018), critical theory aims to delve into the foundation of social life and
expose the assumptions which keep individuals indulged into comprehensive and true
understanding of the way the society is functioning. Rehbein (2018) has noted that critical
theory currently as it is known can be traced to have its origin from the critiques of Marx
regarding economy and society. As a social worker, by delving into critical theories like
Marxist critique, structuralism, feminism and race theory, I have gained the ability to
understand the structural nature of poverty, inequality and marginalisation along with
disadvantage in the society. The following paper will reflect my understanding of structural
nature of poverty, inequality, disadvantage and marginalisation and critically assess current
policies and programs which are developed in order to address disadvantage and oppression
in the society.
Discussion
The discussion on poverty and the ways of eliminating or reducing it has seen years of
speculating. There are a number of approaches to comprehend this phenomenon. These
approaches can be peculiar or structural in nature. According to Miller, Bazzi, Allen,
Martinson and Salas-Wright et al. (2017), poverty is not only conceived as an economic
concept but also tends to be political. There has been found several dynamics to the
perseverance of poverty and there are several conditions and non-state actors involved in it.
However, as a social worker, I have to shed light on the queries whether only individuals are
accountable for such underprivileged living standards or there lies a structural problem which

CRITICAL SOCIAL WORK THEORIES2
has been resulting in these poverties. While understanding poverty from the perspective of
structuralism, it has been seen that there is an essentiality of addressing political values on
which society’s institutions are established (O'Campo, Molnar, Ng, Renahy and Mitchell et
al., 2015). The financially affluent class considers the manifestations of poverty to be
unbearable rather than poverty in its own form (Schmid, 2018). To my understanding, the
slums in metropolitan areas are perceived as antagonistic to the aesthetics of the dominant
class. Therefore, the impression of abolition of poverty changes itself into indiscernibility of
underprivileged to create their lost aesthetics. However, as a social worker while speaking
about structure, I have implied that political, social and economic constructions which have
particular values and ideologies. However, this range of values and principles can be
substantial, neoliberal, capitalist or socialist. Under structuralism, the notion of either
complete or relative poverty has been structurally determined even though the former
category requires to be addressed at precedence since the relative poverty cannot be handled
on immediate manner (Krumer-Nevo, 2016). As a social worker, I have probed into programs
introduced by the Australia Council of Social Service such as reducing child poverty by
assessing social and financial developments and improving the integrity and equality of
taxation services.
While exploring critical theory, I have gained the understanding that critical theory
has been particularly limited by euro-centrism. However, it is further distorted by its attention
towards capitalism and the economy. Majority of critical theorists have asserted that
inequality in the society is embedded in the unequal distribution of resources and economic
capital. Gillborn (2015) has argued that economic resources are vital as compared to other
aspects of the society. However, from a perspective of a social worker, I have understood that
inequality is more fundamental in comparison to the economy. Moreover, the economy is
referred as the most vital aspect of inequality besides its reproduction in capitalist