Social Work and Common Sense

Paul Michael Garrett has made an important contribution to the renewal of the radical Marxist tradition in social work over the past twenty years…Garrett in this book has provided a valuable resource for all those who believe that “another social work is possible”. Here, as in his previous book Dissenting Social Work, he has demonstrated that we do not have to settle for the narrow, controlling and rationing approaches that have come to define neoliberal social work.

Iain Ferguson, British Journal of Social Work, 2024

Paul Michael Garrett’s book is a great contribution to the field of social work very much in need of critical and radical theoretical perspectives. Social Work and Common Sense is timely and much needed in a time when the neoliberal reorganisation of social policy is increasingly embedded and dominant. More specifically, social work education, its curriculum and practices is being recast in neoliberal terms and the very existence of a social justice orientated social work risks becoming irrelevant. Indeed, given recent developments which are marginalising democracy, violating human rights and social justice, increasing racism, militarism and genocidal wars, Garrett’s book is a must-read book for students, educators and researchers of social work and social policy.

Jessica Hanna Jönsson, Critical Social Policy, 2024

This book undoubtedly builds upon previous excellent work from Garrett, in particular on “keywords” (for example Garrett 2018), and therefore regular followers of his will find this a valuable new contribution. However, in dealing with something as ubiquitous and fundamental as common sense, this book will grip a wide range of readers, including social work students, practitioners and academics, and also those outside the social work profession with an interest in common sense and how this comes to be deployed in a professional context such as social work. At a time when there is an increasing insistence in many areas of social work to delineate and narrow what is seen as appropriate and acceptable knowledge, Garrett’s consistent dedication to explore further horizons for social work knowledge and practice is consistently refreshing. The broad approach to the subject also makes the book relevant to social workers everywhere, regardless of geographic location or area of practice…I expect to return to this book frequently, as I do with much of his work

Joe Hanley, Practice: Social Work in Action, 2024

‘The book…offers a refreshingly critical perspective on social work education and practice. It encourages readers to reflect on and evaluate the foundational ideas [and it] makes a significant contribution to the understanding and development of the field of social work through its innovative and provocative approach. By challenging fundamental assumptions that are often accepted without question, the book opens up space for deep reflection and critical dialogue…Ultimately, this book is relevant for social work students, practitioners, academics, and anyone interested in the application of common sense within professional contexts, even if they do not work in the social field’

Alif Ilman Mansyur et al. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2024

I enjoyed reading the book and I can recommend it to anyone interested in social work, political philosophy, and even sociology or social anthropology

Jiří Mertl, Czech and Slovak Social Work, 2024