Throughout the nineteenth-century in Canada the central and leading ideology was cconservatism (Mullaly, 2007). The cconservatism ideology was later revitalized and given a new name of neoconservatism (Mullaly, 2007). Neo-conservatism is described in the Mullaly text as “basing their economic and social views on the classical doctrines of laissez-faire and individualism, neoconservatives have called for a return to the economic values of the private marketplace” (Mullaly, 2007, p.72). A few views of the neoconservative ideology are that everyone in society needs to look after themselves and society is individualistic (Mullaly, 2007). These traditional views and beliefs along others of the neoconservatism ideology pose many barriers for people with physical disabilities in our society. The Oxford Dictionary of current English defines disability as “physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities” (Soanes, 2001, p. 252). Neo-conservative views on social beliefs, social welfare, and the social work practice will be the areas discussed in this blog and how they affect people with disabilities.
Neoconservatives believe that a society is made up of independent individuals (Mullaly, 2007). This indicates the idea of every individual for themself which shows the lack of social support that an individual with disabilities would receive in our society (Raphael, 2007). The Neo-conservative ideology believes that society should include “individualism”, “competitive capitalism”, and “inequality” within it to be functional (Mullaly, 2007, p. 89). However, these ideals can be contributors to social issues such as poverty which can be high in disadvantaged individual (Raphael, 2007).
Neoconservatives view of social welfare is that it weakens society (Mullaly, 2007). They feel that the main source of social welfare should come from an individual’s family or other voluntary charitable structures (Mullaly, 2007). It’s only after those supports fail that government will step in (Mullaly, 2007). There was a needs assessment study done on physically disabled individuals in Canada which showed the severe need for a numbers of social services for these individuals. Some of the services mentioned were: mechanical devices, employment assistants, mobility issues, and economic issues (Fuchs, 1987). It was also mentioned that many of individuals lacking social support were living in poverty (Fuchs, 1987). Physical disabilities can also vary in severity from temporary injuries to long term or even lifelong. It was found that individuals with longer term physical disabilities suffer more from lower income and unemployment because they continue to be impaired throughout live with a lifelong disability (Galarneau & Radulescu, 2009). “According to the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 42% of persons between 15 and 64 years of age reporting a disability were unable to work" (Galarneau & Radulescu, 2009). This shows that neoconservative views create a number of barriers for individuals with physical disabilities by limiting or not providing the proper services needed to live life (Fuchs, 1987).
Social work in a neoconservative context practices are significantly different from those of the more current progressive social work practices. Social workers in a neoconservative context would expect to work towards getting people off social services or reducing usage of these services is at a minimum (Mullaly, 2007). Anyone accessing these services is regularly monitored to prevent anyone from overusing the system. (Mullaly, 2007) Social workers in neoconservative practices were also required to label individuals into group which are “deserving” (receive service) and “undeserving” (don’t receive service) poor to determine who should receive services (Mullaly, 2007, p. 87). The deserving poor are defined as individuals that faced with conditions of poverty due to conditions they have no control over (Raphael, 2007). People with physical disabilities are considered in the category of deserving poor, however, not all deserving poor individuals receive use of full services and in some cases some people with a physical disability may not be considered “deserving” according to a social worker (Mullaly, 2007, p. 87). This leaves these individuals without the resources they need to live a good quality life. It is creating a good quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities that social workers should be advocating for not preventing it (Mullaly, 2007).
In conclusion, the neoconservative ideology has very traditional views when it comes to social welfare and policies. These views don’t take into consideration the individuals in society that do not fit into an able bodied person who owns their own business. These views might have controlled the lives of people in the past but as a society we need to continue to work towards quality and equal opportunities for everyone.
Nicole G
References
Fuchs, D. M. (1987). Breaking down barriers independent living resource centres for empowering the physically disable. In J. S. Ismael & R. J. Thomilson (Eds.), Perspectives on social services and social issues (pp. 187-197) Retrieved from http://books.google.com/
Galarneau, D., & Radulescu, M. (2009). Employment among the disabled. Perspectives on labour and income, 21(2), 31-41. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/pqdweb?did=1796492661&Fmt=3&clientId=12305&RQT=309&VName=PQD
Mullaly, R. (2007). The new structural social work (3rd Ed.). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Raphael, D. (2007). Poverty and policy in canada: Implications for health and quality of life (pp. 5-26). Toronto: Canadians scholars' Press Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/
Soanes, C. (2001). Oxford dictionary of current English (3rd Ed.). New York, US: Oxford University Press.
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