Illiberalism: A Primer and Call to Action for Social Workers

Authors

Loring P. Jones, San Diego State UniversityFollow
David Engstrom, San Diego State UniversityFollow

Keywords

Illiberalism, social policy, advocacy, President Trump

Abstract

Liberal democracies had been ascendant in the post-World War II era. President Trump is part of a wave of nationalist, anti-immigrant politicians with autocratic tendencies who are challenging liberal democracy. The term given to the governing philosophy of these leaders is illiberalism. This paper is meant to be a primer on illiberalism for social workers, describing this ideology and the threat illiberalism poses for democracy, our social welfare system, and the interests of social work clients. We conclude with a discussion on what social workers can do to defend democracy in light of the historic mission to advance social justice.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Loring P. and Engstrom, David (2020) "Illiberalism: A Primer and Call to Action for Social Workers," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 47: Iss. 3, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.4337
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol47/iss3/4