Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
There is a care economy out there. Many of the most important and fulfilling parts of our lives—such as parenting, neighbourliness and favours—are about care, even if they are not conventionally classed as economic activity. When people are motivated by a need that inspires care, whether unpaid or paid, there can be a richness in the motivation as it is needs-driven and sustaining of both people and society.
In 2010, the Coalition Government began trying to reduce the national deficit through public spending cuts and welfare reform. This – along with the effects of the recession – became the ‘new austerity’.
‘Neoliberalism’, in the way we are using the term, is about more than economics.
“There are two distinct groups of people, one good and one bad; individuals choose to be in one group or the other. ‘Strivers’ work hard and put money into the economy while ‘skivers’ are just lay-abouts who take money out. Claiming benefits traps people in dependency, which is a social evil, passed from one generation to the next. People not in paid work contribute nothing of value to society.”
