Caring and Social Justice

MARIAN BARNES is Director of Social Research in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Birmingham, UK. Over the last 12 years she has worked extensively on user involvement and user self-organization in the context of health and social care. Her books include Care, Communities and Justice (1997) and (with Ric Bowl) Taking Over the Asylum (Palgrave Macmillan, 2000).

Drawing extensively on real-life examples of care giving relationships, Caring and Social Justice reveals an uplifting alternative approach to caring that highlights its contribution to social cohesion and social justice.Care giving has become a high-profile issue in policy and practice, yet much of the literature conceives it as burdensome or even oppressive. Drawing extensively on real-life examples of care giving relationships, Caring and Social Justice reveals an uplifting alternative approach to caring that highlights its contribution to social cohesion and social justice. It offers a clear overview of the literature including debates about an 'ethic of care' and offers a thought-provoking survey ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate study.