A Caring Society?: Care and the Dilemmas of Human Services in the 21st Century

A Caring Society?: Care and the Dilemmas of Human Services in the 21st Century,Michael D. FinePalgrave MacmillanBasingstokeSeptember 2006272 pp.ISBN 0333993381£55.00 (hardback)

Care is no longer a private concern. In the twenty-first century,characterized by population aging, family fragmentation and the entry of women into the paid workforce, it has become a major public issue. This important text offers a systematic, comparative analysis of the sociology, philosophy and emergent practices of care in the context of the political economy of post-industrial societies.

Contents include:

Introduction

• The Emergence of Care as a Public Concern.

Part One: Theories and Arguments About Care

• Defining and Claiming Care.

• A Profession of Care: Care in Contemporary Nursing Theory.

• Promoting an Ethic of Care for an Unjust World.

• Carers and Care Work: Social Policy Analysts on Care.

Part Two: the Politics of Care in the Twenty-first Century

• Demography, Aging and the Need for Care in the 21st Century.

• Work/Life Conflict and the Politics of Child Care.

Part Three: Care and Sociological Theory

• The Body, Individualization and the Transformation of Personal Life.

• Risk, Care and New Logic of Global Capitalism.