Solidary Labour: Its Nature and Marginalisation

Abstract

This paper represents an attempt to analyse the labour involved in producing and reproducing caring relationships as a form of work. The term ‘solidary’ or ‘love labour’ is coined to differentiate this kind of work from other forms of human service work, domestic work and/or economic labour. We suggest that solidary labour cannot be understood as a structural necessity emanating from the political and economic requirements of the wider system. Yet, the tatter approach has been the modal one in both structural functionalist and Marxist analyses of caring. Caring and being cared for involve the construction of symbolic bonds regardless of the economic context in which they are embedded. The sociological understanding of these, demands that we take account of the situated meaning of solidary relations and not merely reduce them to by-products of structural forces. In the latter part of the paper we use time-budget studies and other surveys to show how solidary labour is being marginalised in our society. In particular, we argue that both domestic labour and productive material labour are in open competition with solidary labour for the use of time. Research to date would suggest that solidary labour is the loser in this competition.