Care Capitalism

In care capitalism, the solution to the care crisis is based entirely on the market with its profit-oriented companies. This is based on the assumption that most care services could be provided via the market without any great loss of quality. The emergence of corporations in health care is as much a part of this as the introduction of market-like elements, e.g., flat rates per case (see Isaksen/Devi/Hochschild 2008; Chorus 2013). In this context, the phenomenon of carewashing should also be mentioned. Analogous to the terms greenwashing and pinkwashing, carewashing is the term used to describe the actions of companies whose aim is “to increase their legitimacy by presenting themselves as socially responsible ‘citizens,’ while really contributing to inequality and ecological destruction” (The Care Collective 2020: 11-12).