ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the steady turn away from social theory within social work generally, and the unintended consequences of this for critical social work specifically. Historically, social theoretical concepts and forms of argumentation have played a decisive role in shaping the ideational and normative agenda of critical social work. The chapter argues that that the advancement of critical social work must be understood as part of a wider turn away from social theory within social work, in particular as realized by the steady decline in the perceived value, applicability and relevance of the former for the latter. It discusses the changing relations between social work, sociology and social theory, in particular the steady separating out of each from the other over time. The chapter suggests that the breakdown in the triadic relationship between sociology, social theory and social work, in part concerns the steady separating out of each from the other.
