Care, Caring

Throughout their lives, people are fundamentally dependent on the care of others in various forms and to varying degrees. Care as a concept is based on this premise and constant of human existence, whereby several dimensions are distinguished, e.g., care as a moral value (care ethics), as an active practice (care work, care activities), as an attitude and mindset (motivation to care), in a political context (care policies, caring policies). Care is also indispensable for today’s social and economic systems, yet it is still undervalued, often naturalized, and underestimated in its significance for individuals as well as for entire societies and their stability. More than care, caring already implies a forward-looking vision in which a focus on care in the sense of gender, generational, and environmental justice is established and in which the fundamental strands of care, reproduction, and care ethics run parallel in their necessary connection.