The Commodification of Care: Its Reduction to Services and the Abuse of Trust in Care Relationships

Abstract

In general, the topic of care has often been analyzed by reducing it to 'servitude' (services). This idea fails to delve into what care has truly represented throughout the history of humanity, avoiding its inherent contradictions. On the one hand, care has been recognized as a tool for sustaining capitalism through exploitative or unpaid labor, primarily performed by women. On the other hand, it is undeniable that it is through care that women are responsible for the reproduction of life. The first perspective assigns care a secondary role in daily life by limiting it to mere 'services' that can be performed by individuals with whom there is no personal bond or who are considered dispensable, as it emphasizes the fulfillment of a need; in the framework of supply and demand, this approach homogenizes and mechanizes the satisfaction of those needs. Without realizing it, this perspective encourages the commodification of individuals' needs, and those who perform care as a service become part of the labor market.