"Principled, pluralistic and humane - rather than utopian or absolute - it is the forgotten script of the twentieth-century Labour Party." John Bew, Citizen Clem
Clement Attlee presided over Britain's first socialist government, ushering in radical domestic reforms - from the creation of the National Health Service to the nationalisation of the railways.
In 1920, however, Attlee returned from service in the Great War and resumed his pre-war social work in East London, whilst organising the increasingly powerful Labour Party. Attlee was a politician honing his voice and philosophy.
Attlee's The Social Worker is a manifestation of an intellectual idea about social work that critiqued the Victorian charitable approach, which focused on individual character rather than the structure of society. The manifesto is a blend of Attlee's socialist politics with its advocacy of increased government involvement. The book also reflects his profound belief in the importance of practical action for helping the disadvantaged.
Attlee's ideal social worker is neither the aloof and abstract theorist, nor the complacent and condescending philanthropist, but a multi-faceted individual who can agitate for social reform whilst volunteering one's time and money for those less fortunate.
The Social Worker is a powerful call to arms for improving society, written with Attlee's characteristic compassion and thoughtfulness. This classic work is a must read for those interested in socialism, the Labour Party and how societies and individuals can make a difference.
Clement Attlee was born in 1883 and served as British Prime Minister 1945 - 1951. He is also the author of As It Happened and Empire into Commonwealth, also published by Sharpe Books.
Praise for The Social Worker:
"The Social Worker is a concise work that proposes solutions, based not on abstract theory but, as the reader grasps from the first pages, on Attlee's own experience." Michael Jago, Clement Attlee: The Inevitable Prime Minister
"... a clear statement of the principles which were to underlay the creation of the welfare state by the Attlee government a quarter of a century later." Francis Beckett, Clem Attlee: Labour's Great Reformer
