Social Justice and the Global Economy: New Challenges for Social Work in the 21st Century‪.‬

In the new century, social work is confronted with a global system in which the world's people are bound together in a complex web of economic relationships. People's lives are now linked to lives of distant others through the clothes that they wear, the energy that warms them, and even the food that they eat. What are the institutions of this new global economy and are they just and equitable? We are compelled to once again consider the perennial themes of social justice, exploitation, and privilege, but this time as they relate to an economic system of unprecedented scope. With regard to social justice issues, the NASW Code of Ethics (2000) leaves no doubt about a global mandate. Whereas the term "global" was not used in earlier versions, the current code states "social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels ... [including] social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that ate compatible with the realization of social justice" [italics added] (pp. 26-27). This explicit extension of ethical responsibility beyond national boundaries flows naturally from the core value of "human dignity and worth" that is at the heart of our professional identity. Moreover, such a worldwide orientation is consistent with the work of numerous and often prominent social workers who have worked on peace and global social justice issues throughout the history of the profession (Van Soest, 1995). What then are the structures of privilege, exploitation, and resource distribution inherent in the new global economy? This question is best approached by first noting critical antecedents.