Poverty and Social Justice: The Building Stones of Social Work Identity

Abstract

Poverty and social justice have historically been integral components of the social work profession. This profession has earned national and international recognition for its contribution to the welfare of society. Indeed, social workers celebrate the national social work month in the United States and Canada, and the world social work day in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other parts of the globe. Unfortunately, factors such as social work practice and education as well as political ideology and power dynamics plunge the discipline into an identity crisis. This paper uses the analogy of masonry construction to emphasize the importance of poverty and social justice in social work. It is argued that social work has been erected on two building stones: poverty as the cornerstone and social justice as the keystone. Thus, a recommitment to these two areas is needed for social work to overcome this crisis of identity.

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