Synopses & Reviews
The essential idea of care in health and social policy has recently been swept aside as governments increasingly focus on freedom of choice in health and social services. In this wide-ranging book, Marian Barnes attempts to restore care as a fundamental value in private lives and public policy. Applying feminist ethics to topics such as well-being, social justice, and the ways we relate to one another and the places in which we live, she examines the public debate on care in social policy. Both accessible and broad, Care in Everyday Life reintroduces a much-needed humanitarian perspective on the policies and practices that affect so many people.
Review
“In this wide-ranging analysis of various locales where feminists have applied an ethic of care, Barnes convincingly shows the centrality of care in understanding human life and social policy.”
Review
“Barnes packs a persuasive message in her latest text: care is hard to do. . . . Strengths of this book include plentiful examples from the author’s and others’ research, her careful attention to social justice and global perspectives, and long experience writing about this topic.”
Review
“It is fascinating for those of us who have participated in the development of care ethics as moral theory, whilst being relatively unfamiliar with day-to-day practice in social work, socially provided care of the disabled, and the like, to see how the theory plays out in an area of application such as that described by Barnes.”
Synopsis
In this wide-ranging book, Marian Barnes argues for care as an essential value in private lives and public policies, considering the importance of care to well-being and social justice and applying insights from feminist care ethics to care work, and care within personal relationships.
About the Author
Marian Barnes is professor of social policy at the University of Brighton. She is the coauthor of Children, Families, and Social Exclusion; Unequal Partners; and Power, Participation, and Political Renewal and coeditor of Critical Perspectives on User Involvement and Subversive Citizens, all published by the Policy Press.