Editorial: The politics and practices of care

  • Callum McGregor University of Edinburgh
Keywords: Editorial, Care, Crisis

Abstract


The notion that we are in the midst of a generalised 'care crisis' has steadily gained momentum in public discourse over the last 15 years, often acting as an index of other crises----crises of welfare reform, the pandemic and the unfolding cost-of-living crisis. As useful as this notion may be for galvanising people to act, much rests on the ideological framing both of 'care' and 'crisis'. Since crisis suggests a deviation from the norm, the notion of a care crisis can be mobilised to either highlight perenial inequalities of care or to obfuscate them. It can be mobilised to defend or critique the status quo. Given that this is the case, it is crucial to unpack not only the meaning of care itself but also to ask, 'who cares?' and 'crisis for whom'? (Dowling, 2022). This special issue of Concept explores these critical questions by providing a space for practitioners, academics and activists to explore different ways of thinking about and practising care.

Published
14-Jan-2023
How to Cite
McGregor, C. (2023) “Editorial: The politics and practices of care”, Concept, 13(3), pp. 1-5. Available at: http://concept.lib.ed.ac.uk/article/view/7948 (Accessed: 28March2024).