Marxist Approaches to Social Work

This chapter explores the diversity within Marxist approaches to social work, outlining key aspects of Marxism and the implications for social work under capitalist states, in situations where states break down, and under socialist states. Within each of these contexts, key examples are explored to demonstrate the range of approaches taken. The entry argues that there has been a neglect in the English-language literature of Marxist approaches to social work under socialism, and suggests that recent moves to open up the definition of social work through the concept of ‘popular social work’ offer one approach to begin filling this gap.