In The Care Economy, renowned ecological economist Tim Jackson tackles the fundamental question of why contemporary society sacrifices health for wealth. He argues that care is the foundation of organic life and an irreducible good, yet in the market, it is treated as a "second-class citizen," barely recognized in the relentless pursuit of productivity and GDP. The work unpacks a "careless economy" characterized by the monetization of disease and the prioritization of "cure" over "care". Jackson traces the history of medicine and the gender politics of care to show how our pathogenic culture causes disease through its pursuit of prosperity conceived as material wealth, which is profoundly at odds with prosperity construed as health.
Jackson proposes that the economy should always and everywhere be about care, defining health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing rather than merely the absence of infirmity. He challenges the "obsession with novelty" that drives economic growth and instead advocates for durability and restorative forces. The work explores the global burden of chronic disease—responsible for three-quarters of deaths worldwide—and asks what kind of economy is required to allow humans to live as well as possible within the limits of a finite planet. By redefining value through its Latin root valere (to be well and strong), Jackson offers a bold manifesto for a society where care for the young, the elderly, the sick, and the planet's ecosystems forms the core of our economic activity.
The Pathogenic Culture and the Economics of Health: Jackson’s analysis suggests that the current economic paradigm is fundamentally flawed because it fails to account for the "symbolic immortality through material expansion" that leads to ecological and human degradation. Prosperity, he argues, is about balance, whereas wealth is about "more". The cost of this imbalance is staggering; by 2030, chronic diseases attributed to pollution and disordered diets will cost the global economy over $47 trillion. The Sacred Canopy of Care requires a renewal of our "sacred canopy"—a framework of cultural meaning within which to make sense of our lives—because existing systems like the patriarchy and unchecked capitalism have failed us. By adopting care as an organizing principle, policy-makers can transition away from "stuff-focused" consumerism and toward a sustainable method of tackling systemic crises.
This book supports the Sacred Canopy of Care by articulating the urgent need for a framework of cultural meaning that recognizes care as a restorative force, ensuring that the economy serves as a "sacred canopy" that protects health rather than a machine that extracts it.