This paper explores care’s relation to political thought. Through a critical appraisal of Joan Tronto’s (1993) analysis of the relation of an ethic of care to political philosophy, and by drawing insight from feminist political thought more widely, the paper examines why care has not (as yet) found its way into the core lexicon of political theory. I identify three drawbacks in Tronto's work: 1) Excessive focus on ethics of care, at the expense of (the corporeality of) care relations; 2) Lack of analysis of the present day moral boundaries; 3) Inattention to one key boundary, namely that between politics and economy.
By reworking Tronto’s approach, I show how care is a significant site of political struggle in present day restructuring of advanced liberal societies and welfare states, and a crucial concept in exposing the transformations of the moral and other boundaries in the neoliberal era. The paper thus starts to build what could be called a theory of politics of care.
