Feminist Political Ecology and the Economics of Care

Since the recent financial crisis in 2008, analytical and practical alternatives to the capitalist economy have seen a revival not only in different practices but also in theory. To put it bluntly, economic growth does not remedy social inequality and it is no guarantee of individual and social well-being. Feminist analysis has made important contributions to critiques of capitalism and the debate about what constitutes a good life. The economic and social value of social reproductive work done by women, in the paid care sector as well as in the so-called private sphere of families and interpersonal relationships, is core to this analysis. Feminist ecological analysis, ecofeminism and feminist environmental research – here used as diverse terms for the common concern about the natural environment from a feminist perspective – share the insight that alternatives to the capitalist economy have to take into account feminist issues about social reproduction and care.

The conceptual frameworks of economic alternatives which combine green and non-capitalist approaches have so far failed to deal explicitly with gender issues around care. They neither take into account the importance of care work in the private sphere nor do they reflect critically on the gendered character of work as a whole. The symbolic order of masculinity and femininity which legitimize gender hierarchies remains beyond their conceptual reach. This book remedies this gap by providing an overview of feminist political ecology from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Feminist political ecology is defined as critical assessments of the capitalist growth economy from an interdisciplinary, pluri-cultural feminist perspective. The book will therefore cover a wide range of academic approaches from ecological economics, development studies, environmental studies, political science, sociology, anthropology and philosophy.

Christine Bauhardt is Professor at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany where she heads the division of Gender and Globalisation. The division focuses the impacts of global political restructuring on economic and gender relations in different societies with respect to both, urban and rural areas.

Wendy Harcourt is Professor of Gender, Diversity and Sustainable Development and Westerdijk Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University, The Netherlands. She is also Coordinator of the EU H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN) WEGO (Well-being, Ecology, Gender, and Community).