Dienstboten der Nation: Ausbeutung informeller Laienpflege und die Revitalisierung eines totgeglaubten Klassikers

The decline of Marxist theory is best exemplified by the concept of “exploitation”. For decades now and not only in sociology, the former mainspring of the social critique has been carving out a niche existence. While the concept of exploitation has all but vanished from the social sciences together with its Marxist legacy, it seems like everyone is talking about exploitation. Moreover, the retrenchment of Marxist theory has left a gap that has not yet been filled. This article aims to show that exploitation can be a useful instrument for the theoretical and empirical study of society. The article proposes a sociological concept of exploitation that draws on the sociologies of work, inequality and gender in an empirical analysis of so-called “caring communities” currently garnering widespread societal and political support in the context of Germany’s eldercare crisis. In so doing, the article aims to end the presumed obsolescence of a classic sociological concept that is as relevant today as it ever was.