Feminist Economics & The Value of Care

On the occasion of the Dutch translation of Deficit: How Feminist Economics Can Change Our World we welcome prominent Danish writer Emma Holten to De Dépendance. In Deficit, Emma Holten traces how economic thinkers – from the Enlightenment onwards – created a value framework that overlooked and neglected ‘women’s work’ and acts of care. Because care work could not be measured, it became invisible. Holten reveals how the economic models that drive political decisions today are just as flawed, giving us unparalleled monetary wealth, but causing deep social harms that are hurting us all.

So who gets to define what is valuable? And if we cannot properly value the things that matter, how can we build a better future?