This essay results from studies and research conducted by the Group of Studies and Research about Social Assistance Policy (Gepas) of the Federal University at Pernambuco (UFPE). It indicates some historically observed antimonies in interpretations of the categories and concepts that constitute the terminology of the profession of social service. It also highlights the advances and conquests achieved by the profession based on the assimilation of critical theory, which fertilizes the understanding of the dynamics of capitalist society today. It indicates some disagreements about social policies, particularly those concerning social assistance policy, concerning its conception and possibilities for facing the challenges in the implementation of actions in the realm of capitalist society. It also seeks to analyze the viability of constructing, in this field of action, a critical theoretical interlocution with a professional exercise based on the principles of the Ethical-Political Project for the Profession.
Social service; Policy; Social assistance; Marxism; Capitalism