A Century of Social Work Legacy: Navigating Chile’s Current Crossroads

Original article: Legado de un siglo de trayectoria: El Trabajo Social ante la encrucijada del Chile actual

By Luis Vivero Arriagada, Social Worker, Doctor in Social and Political Processes in Latin America, Professor in the Social Work Department at Universidad Católica de Temuco

This year has undoubtedly been a period of deep reflection for Social Work in Chile and Latin America. We celebrate 100 years since the establishment of the first School of Social Service in Chile in 1925, marking it as the first in Latin America.

Numerous articles, opinion columns, and academic gatherings have highlighted profound reflection and analysis regarding the discipline’s contributions, acknowledging the various milestones, ruptures, and advancements in epistemological, theoretical, and political intellectual terms throughout its history.

This development has been both historical and dialectical, moving (not in a linear fashion) from the initial influence of hygiene practices and assistance-based conceptions through its role in the establishment of an emerging Welfare State in the first half of the 20th century, to its ethical and political commitment in social struggles for various oppressed and excluded sectors of society.

Such historical recounts are necessary as they reaffirm the existence and relevance of a profession that has been intrinsically linked to social and political struggles within the country. However, a commemorative look should not fall into complacency. The maturity of a century-long trajectory demands a historical and critical analysis that, beyond achievements, focuses on the internal forces that shaped its identity and the external threats that currently surround it, especially given the complex sociopolitical crossroads of today’s Chile.

While the foundation in 1925 marks the institutional origin of the discipline, one notable event that elevated Social Work to a position of intellectual and political relevance within the Social Sciences in Latin America was the Reconceptualization process during the 1960s and 1970s.

This intellectual movement was not merely a methodological adjustment; rather, it represented an act of epistemological and political insurrection against the functionalist, assistance-based approach that often perpetuated the statu quo dominating the discipline. This movement was largely influenced by historical processes, social struggles, and projects aimed at building a fairer society that were emerging across the continent.

Dialectically, these phenomena were fueled by Liberation Theology, critical Marxist thought, Dependency Theory, and the consciousness-raising education advocated by Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire.

In this context, the Latin American Reconceptualization of Social Work sought to dismantle axiological neutrality and embrace a clear commitment to social struggles and the emancipation processes of subordinate classes. Ultimately, it embraced an ethical and political commitment to overcoming capitalist domination structures.

As we commemorate the centenary of Social Work, it is crucial to draw lessons from this movement, especially in a context where perilous, deeply anti-democratic projects are resurfacing, threatening the rights of oppressed sectors and jeopardizing many social rights achieved by the working classes.

It is necessary to reclaim the critical identity of social work that transcended mere application of instrumental and technocratic social policies.

Even though the process was abruptly interrupted by the dictatorships that swept across much of Latin America, its intellectual, political, and ethical legacy remains the foundation for confronting today’s demands for an ethical, reflective, and socially just professional practice.

To ignore or downplay the Reconceptualization is to deny the moment when Social Work became a social science with its own voice and political agency.

Today, Social Work faces a new and dangerous crossroads in present-day Chile. The rise of ultraconservative political forces and the reinstatement of ultra-orthodox neoliberal narratives threaten to dismantle social advancements achieved through decades of effort, struggle, and resistance.

The ultraconservative advance proposes a diminishment of the State and an even greater commodification of essential social services (in health, education, and social security, among others), directly impacting the well-being of the most vulnerable populations.

Moreover, these ultraconservative projects and extreme neoliberalism could even mean a dangerous reduction in the professional scope of practice or eliminate the intellectual and technical contributions of Social Work, reducing it to mere technical and administrative functions. In the words of Italian intellectual Antonio Gramsci, we are witnessing a profound social and moral reform, in this case, an ultraconservative regression.

The legacy of a century of Social Work should not be limited to a mere compilation of linear facts, institutions, and names. While certain recognitions are important, they must be made in connection with history and critical reflection.

Therefore, on the centenary of Social Work in Chile and Latin America, we wanted to pause and recognize the significance of the Reconceptualization for its historical legacy of critical thought and ethical commitment. It taught us that reflection must precede action, just as the painful times of dictatorship demonstrated that defending human dignity is the supreme ethical principle.

Today, faced with the «crossroads of contemporary Chile», the profession cannot afford the luxury of intellectual and political ambivalence. The historical challenge for Social Work is twofold: first, to defend the spaces and social rights won against the conservative onslaught that seeks to dismantle them.

Secondly, to deepen its political and intellectual commitment to confront the advance of ultraconservative ideology that aims to reduce its scope of action and rewrite its ethics. It is for this reason that I insist on the urgent need for a critical reflective process within our discipline. I refer to it as the neo-reconceptualization of Chilean and Latin American Social Work.

By Luis Vivero Arriagada.-