Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law Essay

Comparative Perspectives in Social Work Practice and Law - Essay Example According to Morgan (2011), globalization forces social workers to think globally as the service users become more diverse and as social work continue to be guided by international laws. Individualization of problems is also a global trend impacting on social work as communities shift the burden on individuals. Social care and social work is also influenced by political and structural forces that range freely across national borders as well as international social trends. UK and Germany are two different countries with different welfare provision regimes but as time passesby and due to globalization effect, there seems to be a convergence in social work practice between the two countries with Germany emulating most of the features of the UK welfare state (Clasen, 2011). The two states have different political economies and have different historical experiences which shape the welfare state. The UK welfare system is based on beveridgean ideologies while that of Germany was influenced by Bismarckian ideologies. The paper will critically discuss the impact of globalization on social work practice bases on comparative perspectives between UK and Germany which are two European countries. The UK has an institutional model of welfare characterised by social protection, service provision on basis of rights as well as guaranteed minimum standards and minimum income (Alcock, 2008). The welfare state began with provision of services to the poor in the society based on the Elizabethan poor law of 1601. This law set a compulsory poor rate, created overseers of relief and was aimed at punishing beggars. Those provided with relief resided in workhouses and individuals could only get relief from their parish of birth. This led to stigmatization of those who relied on relief for as Spicker (2012) puts it, they were marked with town’s mark. The poor law was criticized for encouraging laziness and undermining wages of independent workers. Elementary education was