ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses how the social work mandate has changed throughout history. It examines the conditions of social work as they relate to social, political and economic tendencies. The book describes how the social work mandate has changed and lays out its economic, political and social boundary conditions in Europe after World War II. It focuses on social work paradigms and theoretical considerations, in other words, phenomenological social work and practice research. The book explores how the fraud debate has its origin in the US, the leading country of neoliberal financial policy and political conservatism. It describes the changes in the societal conditions, professional development and knowledge base of Norwegian social work. The book suggests that economic neoliberalism, the marketization of social services and new public management have severely challenged the core values of social work, leading to the commodification of social work clients.
