Addressing the Contradictions of Social Work: Lessons from Critical Realism, the Social Solidarity Economy, and the Hull-House Tradition of Social Work

Michael Emru Tadesse () and Susanne Elsen
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Michael Emru Tadesse: Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, 39042 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy
Susanne Elsen: Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, 39042 Brixen-Bressanone, Italy

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Social Work, which is a profession and an academic discipline, has two major contradictions that pertain to its co-dependency with the capitalist hegemony and its inconsistent ontology, epistemology, and methodology. Addressing these contradictions is essential for Social Work to achieve its current mission and core mandate of promoting social change, social development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. In this theoretical paper, we argue that Social Work can address its contradictions by adopting Critical Realism as a philosophical foundation and learning lessons from its Hull-House tradition and current endeavors of the Social Solidarity Economy. Doing so helps Social Work realize its full potential and contribute more to sustainability transformation, as it has a crucial role to play in addressing the multiple crises of our time.

Keywords: Social work; Hull-House tradition; Social Solidarity Economy; Critical Realism; ecosocial approach; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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