Social and Moral Theory in Casework, Raymond Plant, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970, pp. xi +99, ISBN 0 7100 6809, 60p (original price)

Abstract

The first social work text I ever read before commencing my training was The Casework Relationship (Biestek, 1961). His premise that social work morals were based on respect for persons that required conviction that man (sic.) had a God-given dignity was problematic even to a Biblical Studies graduate. It was therefore with some relief that I came across this slim volume that not only problematized Biestek's theistic argument, but also presented and deconstructed other positions. Despite the use of casework in the title, Plant focuses on the theoretical principles that should inform the purpose and practices of social work, albeit as an individualized and interpersonal process. Throughout the text, he tussles with the implications of his premise that social work revolves around the dual concern of the welfare of the individual and the welfare of society. Finding that casework theorists struggle to offer satisfactory accounts of this relationship, he looks to social philosophy, which, he argues, has grappled with similar concerns. However, as he states in his introduction, ‘Philosophy does not seek to argue for or against particular concepts…It can point towards incoherencies, contradictions, shifts of meaning etc’ (p. 3). Plant proceeds to posit theories or explanations, which he then questions and reformulates. In doing this, he goes beyond the usual trilogy of virtue ethics, deontology and utilitarianism taught on many social work courses and encourages the social work reader to examine a wide range of philosophical and political thinkers. He links complex concepts to concrete examples in a way that both elucidates the ideas of the original thinker and develops his own thesis. This does not lead to a new list of principles, but illustrates how the theory and practice of social (case)work require complex moral reasoning.