Commodification

Commodification means that goods and services previously produced or assumed by household members, the welfare state, or civil society are now offered through the market. “The commodification of care and care work is the ‘becoming commodified’ of a basic human need” (Chorus 2013: 27; see also Ungerson 1997). The problem of the increasing commodification of care and care work is seen as alienation, which can be problematic for the quality of care activities. The degree of (de)commodification indicates the extent to which individuals’ welfare is dependent on the market.