Suchergebnisse

In the modern, extant world of practical history, the dominant "democratic" tradition splits sharply into three, often hostile strands. These strands are liberal democracy, social revolutionary democracy, and participatory democracy. Especially for analytical purposes, it is important to see these strands as distinct sharing only the vaguest general commitment to government by and for broad reaches of the population (thedemos). However, the three strands, for all their differences—and hostilities—should be seen historically as standing in profound and significantdialecticalrelationship with each other. In this light, liberal and social revolutionary democracy are opposites in an antithetical tension that is increasingly extreme. Participatory democracy will then appear as a third term, a still emerging synthetical response arising out of attempts to resolve the tension between the two earlier democratic variants, and clearly showing marks of its inheritance from them.

Dialectics deals with opposites and contradictions. Social work literature seldom talks about opposites and contradictions. This article attempts to discuss the relevance and usefulness of dialectics in social work practice, focusing on three areas: the individual/social divide, contradictions in worker-client relationships and social work as a profession.

Reconsiders the place of dialectics in Marxist philosophy, drawing on a reading of the works of Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels. It is suggested that Marx & Engels built their theory on the foundation of Hegelian dialectics because (1) they were deeply immersed in the German tradition of viewing the material universe as the product of self-differentiation that takes place through stages of growth & decay, & (2) they steadfastly believed that reality revealed itself only in a distorted manner in the material world. By applying Hegelian dialectics to social analysis, Marx produced a scientific framework in which historical proof of the eventual death of capitalism & birth of socialism & communism might be collected. Engels employed Hegelian dialectics with the somewhat more grandiose intention of developing a global worldview wherein all layers of natural & social reality might be explained according to a singular principle & set of laws. In transforming a philosophical tradition into a set of laws, Marx & Engels ultimately delegitimized an entire current of Western thought, which can only be revived if it is restored to its place as a form of philosophical speculation. 24 References. D. Ryfe