Community psychology and the crisis of care

Abstract

In addition to the twinned crises of ecology and political economy, we face today a crisis of care. The crisis of care, I contend, is fundamentally a political and an ethical crisis. In this short commentary, I outline the structural (i.e., systemic) and reproductive (i.e., labour) character of this crisis, using the COVID‐19 pandemic as an example. From here, I argue for the imperative to centre an expansive conception of care in critical community psychology work. Specifically, I posit that by working with and alongside activist care workers, community psychologists can assist in building socially just modalities of care. After reflecting on my work with collective caring initiatives, I offer five (tentative) guiding principles for a community psychology that is committed to addressing the crisis of care, namely: (1) commitment to building political coalitions; (2) commitment to refuting capitalist conceptions of care; (3) commitment to expanding conceptions of care; (4) commitment to embracing the psychological consequences of care work; and (5) a politicoethical commitment.

Analyzing Discursive Constructions of Community in Newspaper Articles

“…For instance, in 2017 we collaborated with residents of Thembelihle as well as a film production company to produce a documentary film that sought to speak back to news reports of Thembelihle (Suffla et al, 2020). Situated within a humanistic frame, the documentary captured Thembelihle's multifarious quotidian life, grassroots resistance politics, and histories from the different-sometimes incongruent-perspectives of those living in the community (Malherbe, 2020). At public screening events in and beyond Thembelihle, audiences have used the documentary to organize community-building activities (e.g., demonstrations, solidarity across social movements, crosscommunity communication, and community campaigns) around nuanced depictions of their community.…”

“…As noted elsewhere, although "no community is homogenous or archetypical of the South African experience, the historical trajectory of Thembelihle, as well as the meta-narratives that have come to be associated with this community are, in many ways, shared by the majority of South Africans" (Suffla et al, 2020, p. 350). The present study forms part of a larger community-engagement initiative and doctoral research project that sought to work with residents of Thembelihle to construct counterhegemonic action through participatory methodologies (see Malherbe, 2020). Accordingly, the results of the present study were drawn on within these community-led counterhegemonies.…”

Understanding community violence: A critical realist framework for community psychology

“…Thus, Thembelihle: Place of Hope has been screened numerous times within and beyond the community. As noted elsewhere (see Malherbe, 2020), at screening events, audiences have engaged the producers of and characters in the film on the community-led intervention into xenophobic violence. People from surrounding communities have shared their own stories of xenophobia, resilience and resistance, and have-in this way-sought to foster political linkages through affective points of connection.…”

Considering love: Implications for critical political psychology

“…More specifically, through a reflexive position, I explore the emancipatory, banal and oppressive functionalities of love under capitalism. Such a position derives from a more general concern with how affect and action coalesce in grassroots political struggles (see Malherbe, 2020b). I would wish for this article to be considered with respect to the insights it may offer to political struggle, rather than it be assessed against 'objective' theoretical criteria.…”

“…Bad love is, however, a relational notion, and can only function by blocking off 'good love' which, according to Berlant (2011) and Hardt (2011), is expansive, transformative, generative, open to difference, and signifies collective and individual transformation (see also Lanas & Zembylas, 2015). Good love emphasises similarities -rather than differences -between the self and the Other with a view towards building care and solidarity between these parties (see Malherbe, 2020b). We might say that good love represents an event that, although embedding itself in the everyday, does not necessarily cohere with the capitalist social order (Badiou, 2009).…”