Capitalism goes care. Elder and child care between market, state, profession, and family and questions of justice and inequality

• Published date: 21 May 2018
• Date: 21 May 2018
• Pages: 347-360
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-10-2017-0218
• Author: Brigitte Aulenbacher,Fabienne Décieux,Birgit Riegraf
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity, equality, inclusion

Capitalism goes care

Elder and child care between market,

state, profession, and family and questions

of justice and inequality

Brigitte Aulenbacher and Fabienne Décieux

Department for the Theory of Society and Social Analyses,

Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria, and

Birgit Riegraf

Faculty of Sociology, Paderborn University,

Paderborn, Germany

Abstract

Purpose –The starting point of t he paper is the meteoric rise of care and care work upon the so cietal and

sociological agenda . Referring to Polanyi, the autho rs argue that this is the manifest ation of a new phase of

capitalist societali sation (Vergesellschaftung) of social reproduction in the form of an e conomic shift. The

purpose of this paper is t o discuss the societal organisation of care a nd care work and questio ns of

inequality and justice .

Design/methodology/approach –The first part of the paper illustrates some facets of the economic shift in

the field of care and care work. The second part reconstructs the societal organisation of care and care work in

the private sector, state, third sector and private households from the mid-twentieth century in the context of

questions of inequality and justice. The third part draws on the institutional logics perspective and French

pragmatic sociology and the own case studies on home care agencies (HCA), residential care communities

(RCC) and early child care (ECC) in Austria and Germany and shows how conflicting demands give rise to

new questions of justice. The paper ends with a short conclusion.

Findings –The paper shows how the commodification and de-commodification of care and care work have

changed over time and how the economic shift –illustrated in the case of HCA, RCC and ECC –is

accompanied by conflicting demands and questions of justice.

Originality/value –A Polanyian perspective on the relation between market and society is combined with

the neo-institutionalist and pragmatic idea that orientations rooted in the “logics”of the market, the state, the

family and the profession influence how conflicting demands in elder and child care are dealt with and how

questions of inequality and justice arise.

Keywords Social justice, Socialreproduction, De-commodification, Countermovement, Elder and child care,

Home care agencies, caring communities and socialinvestment

Paper type Conceptual paper

Care and care work are attracting societal and sociological attention in a new way and to a

greater extent. The partially meteoric rise of the topic, giving us our starting point, is an

expression of a new stage of capitalist societalisation (Vergesellschaft ung)ofsocial

reproduction, which extends to care and care work as well. Initially, we give some

examples which illustrate the very different forms that capitalist access to care may take

but through which a common thread can be identified: the economic shift in the field which

we are discussing in a Polanyian perspective. We then take a cursory look at the

development from Fordism to finance capitalism and from welfare to social investment

and point out some questions of inequality and justice. In the next part of the paper,

we discuss the extent to which such questions are affected today, referring to

neo-institutionalist and pragmatic perspective and drawing on empirical findings from

research on home care agencies (HCA), residential care communities (RCC) and early child

care (ECC). Concluding remarks focus on care as a contested terrain.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 37 No. 4, 2018

pp. 347-360

© Emerald PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-10-2017-0218

Received 18 October 2017

Revised 29 December 2017

Accepted 20 January 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

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Capitalism

goes care