Defamilazation in commoditized welfare

Defamilization, as proposed by Esping-Andersen, is inscribed in an overall logic that is typical of modernity and the golden years of the welfare state, the opposition/complementarity between state and market, and the social democratic vision of the state primacy in the market. As has been seen, the market today has regained its centrality along with all the associated risks of growing inequality brought about by this trend. In order to counteract the privatization of the demand for protection, Magatti argues that it is necessary: “to promote forms of composition able to value all those extensive relational forms that not only have a (not insignificant) result in terms of quantity and cost, but also provide recognition of the human and relational dimension that makes the difference in terms of quality”. In practice, this means enhancing relational ties, considering them to be an essential resource not only for containment but, above all, for satisfying the demand for care and protection. In spite of everything, the family continues to be the most significant and widespread relational form in guaranteeing care and protection. Recognizing the value of the work of childcare, and promoting and supporting the freedom of choice of families, may be a way to encourage the de-commodification of welfare, engaging in a new logic that goes beyond the need to choose between market mechanisms and authority and opts for the logic of reciprocity and responsibility between generations, without placing the rights of mothers in opposition to those of their children or the rights of adults against those of the young.