The Altruistic Imagination: A History of Social Work and Social Policy in the United States

by John H. Ehrenreich

Social work and social policy in the United States have always had a complex and troubled relationship. In The Altruistic Imagination , John H. Ehrenreich offers a critical interpretation of their intertwined histories, seeking to understand the problems that face these two vital institutions in American society. Ehrenreich demonstrates that the emphasis of social work has always vacillated between individual treatment and social reform. Tracing this ever-changing focus from the Progressive Era, through the development of the welfare state, the New Deal, and the affluent 1950s and 1960s, into the administration of Ronald Reagan, he places the evolution of social work in the context of political, cultural, and ideological trends, noting the paradoxes inherent in the attempt to provide essential services and reflect at the same time the intentions of the state. He concludes by examining the turning point faced by the social work profession in the 1980s, indicated by a return to casework and a withdrawal from social policy concerns.

Genres: Social Work, History, Nonfiction, Social Science, Social Justice, Politics

272 pages, Hardcover

First published June 28, 1985

About the author

John Ehrenreich is professor of psychology at the State University of New York, College of Old Westbury.

Reviews

[Jeremy Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the history of social work, a field so fixated on professionalization that it ceased to exist.

“Social work appears rudderless, insecure, suffering from a loss of unity and a clear sense of identity. Is social work concerned with psychotherapy? Organizing communities? Administering social services? Developing social policy? What are we to make of the rush of social workers to private practice with middle-class clients? And how shall we interpret the appearance of a new group of social policy professions—city planners, public administrators, policy analysts—who are not social workers? How can these impasses be surmounted? There are no simple, formulaic answers. The basic problem is that any program, if stated in any but the most vague terms, must make assumptions as to the nature of the real world.”

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Putting aside the fact that this book is hella old and thus is missing social work's more recent history (i.e. the last 30 years or so), this is a good overview of a lot of material, everything from progressivism to the New Deal to the War on Poverty. Ehrenreich (ex-husband of Barbara!) makes a pretty convincing argument for the idea that social work has always struggled with the tension between focusing around casework vs. more sweeping social reform, but I'm not sure I buy that these two foci are as different or as contrasting as he suggests. To me casework is a form of street-level social reform, carried out one person or family at a time. More striking is how hard social work has had to vy for its status as a profession, sometimes making strange alliances with the sciences to gain respect. But the one thing Ehrenreich fails to address in any depth is that much of this struggle is due to it being female-dominated - and our patriarchal society has never been that interested in reformers who place an emphasis on kindness, caring, respect and feelings. Psychology, with its acceptable remove and pseudoscientific backing, has never had to work so hard to get people to listen.

[Olivia Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book truly shows that history is repeating itself. Written in 1985, Ehrenreich creates many parallels to the trump administration shit show we are pushing through today. This book also reminded me of how poor my high school US history education was (thank you Mr. Staffaroni for only teaching us about industrialization and war) and how much more I need to learn/unlearn about our history.

[Reclaim Yoga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Powerful food for thought around the evolution of the social work profession and beautiful display of inevitable tension throughout history between social work and social policy.

[Isla Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

February 2025: I did nottttt understand the point of this book 3 years ago - it offers a very critical and comprehensive history of social work (although a whitewashed version). Reading my annotations from 2022 was crazy because miss ma'am was reading this book through rose-colored glasses and did not catch the critical undertone - or the blatant criticisms lol. Loved analyzing this in class. Drawing historical comparisons to the current sociopolitical climate is sca ry

January 2022: Very very informative on the history of social work but a bit on the boring side. I read it after undergrad to see if I could get more insight into Social Work before getting an MSW. It did not help with that decision, as it is mainly history-based, but it still had load of good information, and my copy is heavily highlighted.

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book about social policy is depressing, and this is no exception. But it is very well-researched and is great for the parallel narratives of what was happening in terms of social policy and how the field of social responded to it -- or completely failed to respond to it. I wish the author would update it with the last 30 years of social policy.

[Moira Kulik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this book because it's on the syllabus for my social policy class. It's repetitive, dry, and far too long. Maybe if he'd had his wife edit it down, I'd have enjoyed it. There's some great content, but the structure and repetition just ruins it.

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

yep, read this in preparation for csun teaching interview. dry, but not as bad as i thought it was going to be.