Re-conceptualising the political subject: the importance of age for care theory

Abstract

Many gerontologists argue that citizenship should be re-conceptualised in order to include entitlements to care for persons with dementia. I agree with their claim; however, I put forward that what is needed is a re-conceptualisation of the citizen. Specifically, I argue that care theory must explicitly divest itself from an understanding of the citizen as an adult. My proposal is for a naturalised concept of the citizen, which means that it would be based on the reality of actual human beings. Citizens age, their abilities are diverse and these vary throughout their lifetimes.