Dienstboten der Nation: Ausbeutung informeller Laienpflege und die Revitalisierung eines totgeglaubten Klassikers

Post-Wage Politics and the Rise of Community Capitalism

“…Nonetheless, this article claims that we are facing a new set of circumstances deriving from three major trends. First, demographic change and a major care cap are aggravating the crisis of social reproduction induced by changing gender relations, welfare state retrenchment and limited local government budgets (Haubner, 2017; Jürgens, 2010). Social care services are additionally being stretched at a time of substantial infrastructural gaps with regard to social, medical and educational provision for refugees (van Dyk and Misbach, 2016).…”

“…Of course, the widespread notion of an ‘old age crisis’ (World Bank, 1994) is problematic, since it suggests a naturalized crisis rooted in old age itself and not in the socio-economic conditions of the ageing society. However, in Germany, for example, about 3.4 million elderly people are dependent on care while there is an estimated shortfall of 500,000 professional care workers (Haubner, 2017; Prognos, 2012). Even considering such dramatic changes, the picture of the emerging post-wage regime is still not complete: current post-wage practices are further fuelled by technological change, first and foremost by digitization and new virtual networks and communities.…”

“…Beyond programmatic and educational approaches, civic engagement is being expanded by new rules that serve to facilitate its co-option. Of particular interest is the field of care for the elderly, which is turning out to be a kind of ‘forerunner’ for the volunteer society of the future (Haubner, 2017). Several law reforms in 2013 and 2015 relating to long-term care enabled volunteer caregivers in care homes as well as in private households to be paid an allowance.…”

“…As overwhelming as, for example, volunteers’ support for refugees is, this non-guaranteed help is subject to fluctuation and swings in the public mood and can be withdrawn at any time without explanation (van Dyk and Misbach, 2016: 221). Finally, yet importantly, the voluntary post-wage regime challenges standards of professionalism and furthers the de-skilling of reproductive activities beyond private households (Baines, 2004; Haubner, 2017: 355–364).…”

“… 1. The term ‘community capitalism’ was coined in joint discussions with Emma Dowling and Tine Haubner. It serves to highlight the common conceptual roots of our (separate) research on affective labour and the political economy of care (Dowling, 2016; Dowling and Harvie, 2014), the exploitation of caring communities (Haubner, 2017) and on active ageing, civic engagement and commoning in an era of demographic and welfare state change (van Dyk, 2015, 2016a; van Dyk and Misbach, 2016). The term was used once before (but in a different sense) in a report by the American Assembly (1997) headed Community Capitalism.…”