Concept

Editorial: The politics and practices of care

2023-01-16T09:25:57+00:00

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.

Covid-19 and Mutual Aid: prefigurative approaches to caring?

2023-01-16T09:25:58+00:00

The growth of mutual aid has been amongst the more positive outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic. So much for the neoliberal view of humans as rational individuals, focused on the pursuit of their own self-interests, whatever the needs of others. The phenomenal growth of mutual aid initiatives has not been confined to Britain either. On the contrary, in fact. Tens of thousands of mutual aid networks and projects have emerged throughout the world. Whilst recognising and warmly celebrating their achievements, this article sets these within the framework of wider debates about civil society and the future of the Welfare State, within the context of increasing marketisation.

We Care: Perspectives on young carers in Edinburgh

2023-01-16T09:25:58+00:00

When discussing the Special Issue on care, I leapt at the chance to include a piece on young carers. Mae Shaw and I arranged interviews with colleagues at Edinburgh Young Carers in order to gain insight into their thoughts about young carers - the tensions and opportunities. Needless to say, what started as a simple exercise involving 3 questions evolved into a far more stimulating experience for us all.

Review Article: The Cost of Living

2023-01-16T09:25:58+00:00

In the Epilogue to her latest book, Nancy Fraser highlights Covid 19 as 'a textbook example' of the perils of global capitalism: 'the point where all cannibal capitalism's contradictions converge' (2022, p.160). As she sees it, this 'lethal binge' has also produced profound consequences for care, turning 'already destabilised ... social reproduction into an acute care crunch' (p.162).

Lack of care? The Scottish Government's Consultation on A National Care Service for Scotland

2023-01-16T09:25:58+00:00

This is a personal account of being involved in the consultation both as a disabled person myself, and as a community worker supporting a group to take part. For many community workers, our own experiences relate to those of the people we work with. This brings knowledge and passion to our work and helps us connect to people, but sometimes the work can affect us more deeply than if we were working with people with whom we didn't share a background. This was my experience with the National Care Service (NCS)