ABSTRACT
In the preceding chapters we have looked at various facets of the present state of care work, across historical time and the life course and from informal care by relatives to the highly professionalised work of the pedagogue with a variety of points in between. In this concluding chapter we look to the future, picking up on some of the issues we raised in our introduction and which have emerged in subsequent chapters. We start by offering some answers to two key questions. Does care work have a future? Is there a crisis in care work? We conclude by considering what form or shape care work – paid or unpaid – might take over the first part of this century.
