The Ideals, Myths and Realities of Ethics, Practice and Social Justice: the Ideals of Professional Ethics, Moral Ethical Decision-making and the Realities of Social Justice in Professional Practice

This work undertakes a critical postmodern analysis premised on the works of Zygmunt Bauman. It explores through a postmodern framework, themes of power relations, personal moral frameworks and codiifed ethics. Notions of absolutism, relativism and the power of control are juxtaposed against ideals of social justice and reflected through a Baumanian framework. Systems of influencing power are constituted as legal-rational authority and political-socioeconomic interests, as they are delegated through legislation, bureaucracy, organisation and hierarchical line management. I suggest that literature focusing on moral-ethical decision-making, social justice ideals and professional practice, together with codified ethics do not conceive of ways in which the claimed ideals of human service work (the achievement of social justice ideals) might be achieved in the face of structural oppressions that facilitate disadvantage. I argue that a professional's moral ethical decision-making is constrained by systems of power. This analysis should offer assistance to professionals who are seeking integrity and personal responsibility in their professional decision-making.