Civic Labour or Doulia? Care, Reciprocity and Welfare

This article discusses the grounds on which those who provide informal social care for dependent adults and children can be held to warrant public support, and what obligations they should accept in return. It outlines two interpretations of the rights and responsibilities of such care workers: Stuart White's notion of care as civic labour and Eva Feder Kittay's principle of doulia. It shows that these interpretations reflect different understandings of the self and of reciprocity. The conclusion is that Kittay's writings better reflect the relationality of care, but that it is still possible to justify some forms of welfare conditionality.