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The Care Economy
Care is the foundation of organic life. But its fate in the economy is precarious and uncertain. The labour of care is arduous and underpaid. Yet without it health and vitality are impossible. Care itself ends up leading a curious dual life. In our hearts it’s honoured as an irreducible good. But in the market it’s treated as a second class citizen – barely recognised in the relentless rush for productivity and wealth.
How did we arrive in this dysfunctional place? And what can we do to change things? What would it mean to take health seriously as a societal goal? What would it take to adopt care as an organising principle in the economy?
Renowned ecological economist Tim Jackson sets out to tackle these questions in this timely and deeply personal book. His journey travels through the history of medicine, the economics of capitalism and the philosophical underpinnings of health. He unpacks the gender politics of care, revisits the birthplace of a universal dream and confronts the demons that prevent us from realising it.
Irreverent, insightful and profoundly inquisitive, The Care Economy offers a bold and accessible manifesto for a healthier and more humane society.
How did we arrive in this dysfunctional place? And what can we do to change things? What would it mean to take health seriously as a societal goal? What would it take to adopt care as an organising principle in the economy?
Renowned ecological economist Tim Jackson sets out to tackle these questions in this timely and deeply personal book. His journey travels through the history of medicine, the economics of capitalism and the philosophical underpinnings of health. He unpacks the gender politics of care, revisits the birthplace of a universal dream and confronts the demons that prevent us from realising it.
Irreverent, insightful and profoundly inquisitive, The Care Economy offers a bold and accessible manifesto for a healthier and more humane society.
- GenresEconomicsNonfiction
301 pages, Paperback
Published May 27, 2025
13 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Tim Jackson
52 books90 followersTim Jackson is an ecological economist and writer. Since 2016 he has been Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP). CUSP is a multidisciplinary research centre which aims to understand the economic, social and political dimensions of sustainable prosperity. Its guiding vision for prosperity is one in which people everywhere have the capability to flourish as human beings – within the ecological and resource constraints of a finite planet.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2025
This honestly dissappointed me a bit, but I think that had more to do with my own expectations than the book itself, which is incredible at being what it tries to be.
While I have been enjoying other books on equitable, sustainable economics recently, this one absolutely takes the cake for least economic. This is not really a collection of potential policies for strengthening what we in Denmark call the "care sector", but rather a journey with Tim Jackson through what he ends up calling the Careless Economy - The growth-based economy. He is the oncologist diagnosing the disease, not the doctor prescribing medicine. As for policy, Jackson even mentions later that policies are not really the point of the book, rather pointing out two rather important things:
1. Prosperity is health, rather than wealth Society prioritizes wealth over health. Growing rather than prospering.
2. The economy should therefore concern it self with Care instead of growth. Economy as care. Economy where the reigning principle is improving our health. There is a lot of depth to how TJ defines Health and Care, but just know that these two points, taken together, are the real main point in the book, which are expanded through its 300-odd pages.
Looking back on my experience with this book, I would probably have enjoyed it much more if I had known what is was from the beginning. Tim Jackson is the king of tangents - So packed to the brim with 'alternative' thinking, literary, mythological, and historical references. Suddenly we get anecdotes on Florence Nightingale, Daphne du Maurier, Barbenheimer and even some Ovid. The end product is a book with a surprising amount of brevity.
As economists go, Tim Jackson can write. There is no dry syntax in here, but sentences that actually flow well.
While I have been enjoying other books on equitable, sustainable economics recently, this one absolutely takes the cake for least economic. This is not really a collection of potential policies for strengthening what we in Denmark call the "care sector", but rather a journey with Tim Jackson through what he ends up calling the Careless Economy - The growth-based economy. He is the oncologist diagnosing the disease, not the doctor prescribing medicine. As for policy, Jackson even mentions later that policies are not really the point of the book, rather pointing out two rather important things:
1. Prosperity is health, rather than wealth Society prioritizes wealth over health. Growing rather than prospering.
2. The economy should therefore concern it self with Care instead of growth. Economy as care. Economy where the reigning principle is improving our health. There is a lot of depth to how TJ defines Health and Care, but just know that these two points, taken together, are the real main point in the book, which are expanded through its 300-odd pages.
Looking back on my experience with this book, I would probably have enjoyed it much more if I had known what is was from the beginning. Tim Jackson is the king of tangents - So packed to the brim with 'alternative' thinking, literary, mythological, and historical references. Suddenly we get anecdotes on Florence Nightingale, Daphne du Maurier, Barbenheimer and even some Ovid. The end product is a book with a surprising amount of brevity.
As economists go, Tim Jackson can write. There is no dry syntax in here, but sentences that actually flow well.
May 7, 2025
This book was thoughtful, personal and made its case painstakingly, point by point. He was preaching to the converted as I already agree with most of Tim Jackson's thinking on postgrowth economics, and that prosperity is to be understood as health not wealth. I suspect that those he most wants to convince wouldn't read the book, which would be a shame as his arguments, to my mind, are utterly convincing.
Despite having won me over to his cause within the first few pages, there was much to enjoy in the journey. Historical vignettes, that seemed at first tangential, fed into the line of argument. Where they worked best for me, was when they showed how circumstances that seemed inhumane and intractable prompted various historical figures to make changes which led to the outcomes like the Geneva convention, or nursing academies. I particularly enjoyed learning more about how Nye Bevan set up the NHS and Florence Nightingale founded modern nursing. The stories of what inspired them and how they transformed society for the better gives us hope that things can change.
Tim also brought in his own personal experiences of health and indulged in some lyrical musings on nature and philosophy. I enjoyed these but towards the end was becoming impatient. He did a great job of outlining the problem, but I kept thinking - yes I know but what next? How do we get from here to there - from wealth to health? In the last chapter he delivers on this. My only fear is that it's a long book, and in a busy world, will readers get to the end?
The final bit that caught my heart was the last word of the acknowledgements where he dedicates to the book to his mother 'in loving memory'. Suddenly and unexpectedly I was in floods as I thought of the care given to my mother in her final years, the kindness and patience shown by the staff in the care home. And my tears perhaps reflected the essential message that this is personal. This book deserves to have an impact. I hope it will.
Despite having won me over to his cause within the first few pages, there was much to enjoy in the journey. Historical vignettes, that seemed at first tangential, fed into the line of argument. Where they worked best for me, was when they showed how circumstances that seemed inhumane and intractable prompted various historical figures to make changes which led to the outcomes like the Geneva convention, or nursing academies. I particularly enjoyed learning more about how Nye Bevan set up the NHS and Florence Nightingale founded modern nursing. The stories of what inspired them and how they transformed society for the better gives us hope that things can change.
Tim also brought in his own personal experiences of health and indulged in some lyrical musings on nature and philosophy. I enjoyed these but towards the end was becoming impatient. He did a great job of outlining the problem, but I kept thinking - yes I know but what next? How do we get from here to there - from wealth to health? In the last chapter he delivers on this. My only fear is that it's a long book, and in a busy world, will readers get to the end?
The final bit that caught my heart was the last word of the acknowledgements where he dedicates to the book to his mother 'in loving memory'. Suddenly and unexpectedly I was in floods as I thought of the care given to my mother in her final years, the kindness and patience shown by the staff in the care home. And my tears perhaps reflected the essential message that this is personal. This book deserves to have an impact. I hope it will.
June 7, 2025
Tja bum bum. Det er svært at være uenig med Jackson i noget som helst af det han skriver, for han har så meget ret. Bogen tager udgangspunkt i - handler hele tiden om - vigtigheden, ja nødvendigheden af omsorg modsat behandling i forhold til helbred. Og det overfører Jackson så også på samfundet og den kapitalistiske økonomi. Og ja, Jackson har ret. Kapitalismens vækstnødvendighed er en dødsrute hvor 'sygdom' kun kan behandles med mere vækst og det vil nødvendigvis ende i undergang. Omsorg i stedet for behandling i forhold til menneskets såvel som til samfundets sundhed er bydende nødvendigt.
Jackson: "The care economy, then, is a vision for an economy in wich care - rather than restless expansion - is the central organizing principle. It's a blueprint for economy as care. Economy as a form of organization of society i which the guiding principle is to maintain and restore and improve our health. For as long as we live."
"The first and most vital point to make is that care is not just a sector definition. It's a principle. Care as a restorative force that aids and abets the ability of the organism to maintain its internal balance in the face of changes in external conditions. It's an agent in the pursuit of physical and symbolic health. The care economy is an economy in which that principle is taken seriously. In which we prioritise economy as care."
Jeg går ud fra at Jackson har valgt sin stil for at være bredt formidlende. Den irriterer dog mig med sine uendelige hovedsætningsopremsninger og apostroferede sammentrækninger.
Jackson: "The care economy, then, is a vision for an economy in wich care - rather than restless expansion - is the central organizing principle. It's a blueprint for economy as care. Economy as a form of organization of society i which the guiding principle is to maintain and restore and improve our health. For as long as we live."
"The first and most vital point to make is that care is not just a sector definition. It's a principle. Care as a restorative force that aids and abets the ability of the organism to maintain its internal balance in the face of changes in external conditions. It's an agent in the pursuit of physical and symbolic health. The care economy is an economy in which that principle is taken seriously. In which we prioritise economy as care."
Jeg går ud fra at Jackson har valgt sin stil for at være bredt formidlende. Den irriterer dog mig med sine uendelige hovedsætningsopremsninger og apostroferede sammentrækninger.
November 16, 2025
Includes a few brilliantly phrased passages, but unfortunately meanders broadly.
Also, the word CARE is used over 3000 times in 300 pages, I kid you not. Authors latching onto a term and overusing it violently, just…. don’t.
Also, the word CARE is used over 3000 times in 300 pages, I kid you not. Authors latching onto a term and overusing it violently, just…. don’t.
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September 14, 2025DNF
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews