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« C Wright Mills | Main | This Blows Me Away »
August 13, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (0)
Deep Thought
Deep thoughts are crunchy, very chewy and nutritious. They also demand effort from us.
Here is a good one.
Older people are caught between a social ethic which
values independence on the one hand, and, on the other, a service ethic which
constructs them as dependent. This paper argues that this dichotomy between
dependence and independence results from a depoliticisation of need, in part
the legacy of a radical individualism combined with a postmodern therapeutic
ethic.
First sentence...
"Older people are caught between a social ethic which values independence on the one hand, and, on the other, a service ethic which constructs them as dependent."
Translation.
"It's a hell of a thing. When you get old everybody judges you by how 'independent' you are. Independent= good. Dependent= bad. The trouble is that all the things you need to stay 'independent' are in the hands of people who insist on defining the people they help as 'dependent.' Ouch!"
Second Sentence
"This paper argues that this dichotomy between dependence and independence results from a depoliticisation of need, in part the legacy of a radical individualism combined with a postmodern therapeutic ethic."
Translation
"Life is difficult. It always has been but part of being human is being able to rely on others even as we are relied upon. This is the world's oldest two way street. It is fundamentally inhumane to close this "two way street" (and thus destroy 'interdependence') and replace it with a pair of one way streets. On one of these streets we find INDIVIDUALS who are struggling to be INDEPENDENT. On the other street, we find INDIVIDUALS who are receiving services designed to manage the burden of their DEPENDENCE.
This system destroys connectedness and too often drains the joy out of life in Elderhood."
Here is where you can find the whole enchilada...
Ageing and Society, Cambridge University Press 1997 (Vol. 17, 1997, 425-446) "Beyond Apocalyptic Demography : Towards a Moral Economy of Interdependence" by ANN ROBERTSON*
*Very smart person " />