Abstract
This essay aims to bridge the gap between the ethics of care and the sociology of welfare. The
author explores the sociology of welfare at the surface level since the author does not specialize in this
field, but rather in the history of political philosophy. However, both disciplines share a common interest
in two approaches: (1) To perceive the idea of welfare sociologically; that is, aiming for a better life,
and (2) To ask what it means to live well, versus merely living. The author believes that reconsidering
the ethics of care within the sphere of political philosophy also constitutes an approach to the concept of
welfare.
The essay begins with the argument that the ethics of care was born out of the struggles of women,
who have historically taken on gender roles within the division of labor in a certain social context. How
can such ethics offer an alternative theory of citizenship or society? Due to a strong influence of neo-liberalism,
citizens are seen as homo economicus, and a society is viewed as a network of contracts and
exchanges of goods.
Carole Gilligan developed the theory of the ethics of care by listening to women who were
deciding whether to have abortions. The decision to have an abortion has some political implications for
society's assumptions (such as social contracts and individualism). This example also suggests that care
for others always conflicts with one's own self-interests, and that the ethics of care is related to violence.
By showing that our interdependent relationships with each other require "the ethics of care" to be a
public ethic (not a personal one), the author tries to illustrate the particular social role that the ethics of
care can play in the process of trying to realize well-being.
