Relational Vulnerability: Theory, Law and the Private Family

This book explores the disadvantaged position of unpaid caregiving within the private family, arguing that the state conceals the embodied and temporal reality of vulnerability and dependency, promoting an artificial concept of autonomous personhood that exposes dependency-workers to harm. It proposes a more comprehensive understanding of resilience and suggests how the state can respond to relational vulnerability and foster resilience.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 203 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This groundbreaking book delves into the intricate dynamics of 'relational vulnerability' within the private family, shedding light on the disadvantaged position of individuals who engage in unpaid caregiving or 'dependency-work'. Building upon existing socio-legal scholarship on vulnerability and resilience, it explores how the state attempts to obscure the embodied and temporal realities of vulnerability and dependency within the confines of the private family, while propagating an artificial notion of autonomous personhood that exposes dependency-workers to a multitude of harms. The book argues that the legal framework governing married and unmarried families perpetuates principles of individualism and rationality, while devaluing dependency-work as a private, gendered, and sentimental endeavor lacking intrinsic value beyond the family. Furthermore, it examines how the state can address relational vulnerability and promote resilience. By theorizing the normative goals of resilience and applying them to various hypothetical state responses, the book aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this vital concept.

Weight: 349g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030613600
Edition number: 1st ed. 2020