Care as work, care as infrastructure

When the Biden administration included care in its proposals for new infrastructure spending, it sparked a national debate about care work and whether or not it should be understood as “infrastructure.” It is not unrelated to this that care work has become at the heart of two of the greatest political issues of our time: demands for access to health care and the future of health care organization. work, which is increasingly focused on the service sector, and women of color and immigrants who disproportionately support access to health care. the healthcare sector.

What is care and where do arguments about the centrality of care work to the modern economy, as well as to health and the labor movement, come from? Does it make sense to think of care as “infrastructure” – and what does this have to do with the idea that care is work? This panel will anchor the debate on “infrastructure” by bringing together some of the most prominent historical and legal theorists in care work. It will also discuss how the law has worked to marginalize and constrain care, and how it could be reformed to provide power and protections for social workers and those they care for.

Panelists: Peggie Smith, Gabriel Winant and Haeyoung Yoon

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