ABSTRACT
The emphasis on the economic disadvantages women face as caregivers sometimes implies a negative view of caregiving and the domain of the home. In this chapter, I defend the concept of caregiving for liberalism as both a burden and as an activity that is a domain of human excellence and genius. I do so by reevaluating John Stuart Mill’s endorsement of the “common arrangement” in the context of a feminist liberal debate about whether it is compatible with his feminism. I show that Sara Ruddick’s care-ethical work on the value and complexity of care supplies a valuable and necessary remedy to liberal conceptualizations of caregiving. The chapter also finds positive value in Mill’s view that the scope and expression of human individuality must be tempered by the demands of the joint work required for society. It applies this principle to caregiving arrangements.
