Social Work for Lazy Radicals: Relationship Building, Critical Thinking and Courage in Practice

by Jane Fenton

Be proud to be a lazy radical! This textbook makes the case for a radical approach to social work that can be embraced by everyone. It's an approach based on real empathy and an understanding of oppression, of managerialism, of the moral heart of social work, of humanism and of the effects of neoliberal hegemony. Jane Fenton provides a model of radical practice for students and social workers who are committed to 'doing the right thing', and who want to develop their own framework for practice.This book will appeal to students who are activists, but want to frame their individual-level practice in a meaningful way, and to those who are non-activist and non-political but simply want to be good social workers. It will give a political and moral understanding of social work practice and lead to confident, value-based and enjoyable social work.

190 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2019

Reviews

[Donn Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book I randomly got off the library shelf because (I'm a little embarrassed to say) of the cover and of the title. I thought it was going to be an easy read, perhaps an easy introduction to social work, something that might indicate its viability as a second career. It turned out not quite like what I expected, and didn't quite cover what I thought it would.

That being said, I felt it was a fantastic introduction to the issues facing social work today, and also made me aware of the "neoliberal hegemony", a way of thinking so ingrained in us today that we don't even realise it's there and underpinning so much of the everyday thoughts we have on pretty much every subject, including social work and the simple act of "doing good".

Despite the title and the cover, this wasn't a particularly easy read. It's a serious book, whose expected audience are likely social work educators and social work students (of which I'm neither, just someone with an interest).

Given this is pretty much the first book of its kind that I've read, I'm not sure if there are better books out there on this subject, but in itself I thought it was great, and having read anthologies of social work stories (i.e. more anecdotal and less academic/research-driven), the background this book provided helped me understand those stories a whole lot more. It gave me theoretical frameworks against which I could critique social work stories, as opposed to just accepting them wholesale.