In and beyond New Labour: towards a new political ethics of care

Abstract

This article argues for a political ethics of care to balance New Labour's current preoccupation with the ethic of paid work. However, care as a practice invokes different experiences, meanings, contexts and multiple relations of power. With this in mind, the article traces the development of the concept of care taking up, in particular, challenges and differences raised by disability, ‘race’ and migration. These offer important insights for a new political ethics of care whose key dimensions are spelled out in the final part of the article.