Donald Winnicott and the Politics of Care

"This book explores the significance of psychoanalyst Donald Winnicotts ideas for contemporary debates about care. Locating Winnicott in relation to a range of fields, including psychology, philosophy, sociology, critical theory and feminist theory, it examines the implications of his thinking for understanding and transforming the relationship between care and society. Winnicott was unique amongst psychoanalysts for the emphasis he placed on care in the development of subjectivity. The book unpacks Winnicotts understanding of care and assesses its relevance for conceptions of social responsibility, justice and transformation. In a world where care is in crisis, how might we theorise the conditions necessary for the development of caring subjectivities, and is it possible to infer a relationship between those conditions and progressive social change? This unique book will be of interest to readers in psychosocial studies, politics and anyone concerned with thinking about the relationship between care and social transformation."--Back cover Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 1 Introduction: Winnicott and the Politics of Care 10 Winnicott Now 14 Winnicott and the Politics of Care 17 Theories, Methodologies, Outline 27 References 33 2 Healthy Life: Care, Cura and Flourishing 39 “Healthy Life” 42 The Capacity for Concern 56 Flourishing and Society 61 References 65 3 Oedipus and Capitalism: Denying Dependence, Effacing Care 70 Capitalism, the Family and the Privatisation of Dependence 73 Subjectivity, Separation and the Denial of Dependence 80 Ways Out: Towards a New Symbolic 91 References 100 4 Caring States: Maternal Care, Holding and Social Provision 105 Maternal Thinking and the Longing for Care 106 Holding and Society 114 Maternal Attitudes and Caring States 127 References 133 5 Care, Power, Justice 139 Capacities, Care and Justice 142 Subjectivity and Power 151 Justice, Capacities and the Organisation of Care 163 References 167 6 Attacks on Holding 171 Changing Structures of Care 172 Traumatogenic Environments and Careless Subjects 177 Caring Relationships in an Uncaring World 186 References 194 7 The Politics of Holding 199 Holding and Growth 200 The Radical Politics of Holding-Care 207 A Psychosocial Argument 212 References 228 References 233 Index 256