Social work, neoliberalism and authoritarianism: an analysis of the policy document 'Regulating social workers'

This discussion examines the complexity of the social work profession in the neoliberal era. Government austerity policies and a market and corporate neoliberal state have effectively trapped social work in an ideology that increasingly furthers the authoritarian nature of the profession. This will be discussed by looking at the broader policy, political and economic contexts. It will focus in detail on one specific Conservative government policy document, namely, 'Regulating social workers' (DoE and DH, 2016).