Citizenship and the ethics of care: Feminist considerations on justice, morality and politics by Selma Sevenhuijsen

London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203169384 ISBN: 978-0-203-16938-4 (electronic) / 978-0-415-17082-6 (print)

Abstract

Citizenship and the Ethics of Care: Feminist Considerations on Justice, Morality and Politics, written by Selma Sevenhuijsen, examines how the ethics of care can enrich contemporary understandings of democracy, citizenship, and public policy. The book critiques the limits of liberal political theory, which rests on the assumption of rational, autonomous individuals and therefore struggles to explain the interdependence of human relationships. Sevenhuijsen does not reject liberalism. She positions care as a normative dimension that complements justice and broadens its meaning, so that justice is understood as a moral practice sensitive to social context and human vulnerability. The book also shifts citizenship from a legal status to a relational ethical practice grounded in responsibility and respect for human dignity, while rejecting the essentialist view that care belongs to women by nature. Its practical value emerges in discussions of family law, child custody, health care, and the welfare state, where care serves as a standard for evaluating public policy. The book has limits: it offers little guidance on institutional implementation, and its empirical illustrations come mostly from European welfare states. Even so, it offers a normative framework that remains relevant for the Indonesian context, especially for reflecting on social protection, gender equality, child protection, and governance oriented toward social justice and human dignity.