ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the capitalist market economic dominance has relevance to social work in many kaleidoscopic ways. It discusses the decisions made through legislation, social policy and organizational policies and practices affect the ways in which social workers practice and potentially cause ethical ambiguities and clashes. The rise of insurance issues in social work is another example of the application of market ideology, policy and practices which relate to the assessment of risk and consideration of its financial equivalence. The chapter also argues that social workers must firstly remain aware about the language and culture of neo-liberalism and capitalism in their everyday work experiences. Taking a perspective which sees the dominance of capitalism as a historical phenomenon helps to highlight some of the innovative and optimistic developments in which communities and nations and global citizens have come together in the wake of the Global Economic Crisis (GEC).
