Käsitepolitiikkaa : kamppailu hoivasta

Kirjoittajat

• Hanna-Kaisa Hoppania

Abstrakti

This article studies Finnish social policy, in particular elder care, from the perspective of debates over language and concepts. Drawing from a post-structuralist perspective, according to which language constructs reality, and concepts are a crucial field of political struggle, I examine competing articulations of some of the central terms used in care policy. The analysis focuses on debates surrounding a recent law reform of elder care, and the concepts such as care, services, and the elderly. The article demonstrates that the struggle over concepts is central to defining the guidelines of elder care policy and it is connected to various conflicting interests. Furthermore, the article argues that the dominating language in the politics of elder care reflects the increasingly dominating role of neoliberal ideology and policy. This argument is in line with other recent research and observations suggesting that while the universalistic welfare state structures and ideals still have a stronghold in Finnish society, the direction and predominant trends of politics are rather neoliberal.