Vol. 21 No. 1 (2023): Social Work Future(s) — What social work does the world need now?

The present seems to become endless: Multiple crises, not at least the climate crisis, seem to question the possibility of any a human future. More than that: Apocalyptic scenarios obscure the possibility of future in general. This present constellation goes hand in hand with the neoliberal way of life: The “citizen as consumer” (Nikolas Rose) is supposed to ignore the fact that each consuming act is changing the conditions for the future: the provision of cheap products often conveys the working conditions of people as well as the financialisation and privatisation of housing exacerbate the everyday life of families. So, the citizen consumer should live only in the present without reflecting the possibilities of a human future, following the neoliberal doctrine of present capitalism.

On the background of such an analysis of the present, the question of ‘the future’ is of main relevance for the humanity in general and for all societal aspects in specific – not at least in the fields of education and care: How to deal with a present, which has become endless? How to re-develop hope and action for a human future?

The current SW&S.Special Issue is working on that and related questions – under the title: Social Work Future(s). We are grateful for to our guest editors Heather Lynch from Glasgow Caledonian University and Tina E. Wilson from the University of British Columbia, who have been responsible for the current SW&S.Special Issue.  

In addition to the Special Issue-Articles, SW&S presents, as always, very interesting papers in The SW&S.Forum on various aspects of social work and social policy.

Therefore, we wish our readers a highly stimulating read with the current issue.