History as a Resource for the Future: A Response to 'Best of times, worst of times: Social work and its moment'.

This article provides a response to the recent paper in this Journal by Ray Jones entitled 'The best of times, the worst of times: Social work and it's moment'. Jones' paper is welcomed for its use of history to inform the current debates a bout expertise and identity. The objective of this response is to address a perceived gap in Jones' paper with regard to the insufficient and over-simplified approach to the purpose of social work as a dual activity of mediation between care and control. The paper begins by summarising Jones' main points about what is 'special' about social work. This leads on to a critical commentary on the discussion on expertise and identity in social work. The need for a more nuanced and critical appraisal of our history, with explicit attention to the regulatory role of social work is emphasised. A less passive relationship between social work and its history is promoted and critical questions are raised in particular to his consideration of 'What now?'. This leads to a conclusion that offers alternative suggestions that can ensure a more critically oriented approach to use of history to inform our complex and necessarily contradictory present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]