Paradoksy zwalczania ubóstwa. Rzecz o (nie)upełnomocnieniu wyłączonych społecznie

In the presented article the author presents the issue of empowerment understood as the fact of giving full rights to an individual or a group within the field of institutional influences from the point of view of a practician and long-time observer of the permanent changes in social support. Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu, Jurgen Habermas are just a few of public intellectuals manifesting interest in social policy and with whose opinions the author attempts to confront the field of practical influence of social services specialists. Moreover, the article attempts to describe paradoxes in social support in the form of unmasking facts, stereotypes, and camouflages in terms of organization of social support. The presented text, exemplifying the act of combating poverty, indicates problems appearing during application of the concept of empowerment in the field of social support. Numerous examples quoted in the presented text depict the paradoxical mechanisms in social activities, and thus the apparent subjectivity of social support clients, which disfavor empowerment.