Care and solidarity. From a unifying care policy to a society based on solidarity

Matthias Neumann and Gabriele Winker Care and solidarity are two fundamental ways in which people relate to each other. In this text, we would like to explore their relationship. We begin with a few necessary definitions. We attempt to describe the relevance of care and care relationships as a political starting point (1) and to develop their interconnection with the concept of solidarity (2). However, care and solidarity are not only conceptually but also politically linked: Given the effects of neoliberal policies and the shift in power relations associated with them, a care policy that actually wants to change something is dependent on solidarity-based action (3). In the following, we describe the main features of a "unifying care policy" in which people in different positions within care relationships act together (4). Under capitalist conditions, joint action that promotes the interests of all those involved is dependent on improving the framework conditions for people in care relationships (5). In conclusion, we argue in favour of a society that supports caring and solidarity-based action in its structural foundations (6).The full text (11 pages) as PDF