The Identity and Future of the Social Services (Identidad y futuro de los servicios sociales)

In this article, we start from what identity theory offers to materialist values. For this reason, we analyze the values of social services themselves, from the 60s to date in Spain and other European countries as well. At the same time, we compare the values of the social services with the values of the society as a whole. The result obtained sheds light on notable coincidences during the 60s. Final values and - to a lesser extent - instrumental values, whereby social services are correlated with the CCB (Christian Community of Assets) Plan (1960), are too little reflected in the Concerted Plan elaborated for the whole of Spain and agreed by three administrations. The new final values have begun to emerge, while others have begun to weaken, due to the lack of instrumental values or of benefits and facilities. At present, we can notice a clear modification of the orientation within community social services, due to emerging values, which are justified and supported by exchange values and permanent values. At the same time, these values reveal the bipartite structure of materialist and post-materialist values.