社会工作与社会福利词汇辨析

Social Work and Welfare Words

本文旨在提请大家注意社会工作以及更广泛的社会福利领域中某些词汇使用的意义。批判性地分析笔者所指称的福利词汇,以及这些词汇如何契合更广泛的经济和文化格局是很重要的。在普遍话语和日常社会工作实践中某些特定词汇的使用量不断增加,深入和批判性地思考这一现象,会引发对这些词汇在描述社会整体性或基础性以及社会行动者的应具特征上所承担的角色的质疑。(1)从更根本上看,笔者的论点是,致力于深入了解权力关系在新自由主义资本主义的语言和文化中的运作方式,应该成为社会工作教育和实践的重要组成部分。(2)遗憾的是,笔者对中国知之甚少。然而,鉴于这个专业的高速成长,(3)(4)笔者认为谈论一下福利词汇的重要性还是有所裨益的。

This brief article seeks to draw attention to the significance of the use of words within social work and the broader sphere of social welfare. Important here is the need to critically investigate,what I term, welfare words and how they may fit within the wider economic and cultural patterning. Thinking more deeply and critically about the incessant deployment of particular words within prevailing discourses and daily social work encounters also leads to questioning what such words‘assume about a social totality or infrastructure,or the presumed characteristics of social actors＇. More fundamentally,my argument is that the aspiration to delve deeper into how power relations operate through the language and culture of neoliberal capitalism should form a major component of social work education and practice. Unfortunately,my knowledge of China is meagre. However,given the tremendous growth in the profession,it may still be useful to say a little on why I think welfare words are important.