The Elementary Forms of the Symbolic Exchange of Care: From Durkheim to Baudrillard and Beyond


Hermanpreet Singh, University of Windsor

The decline of altruism, evident in anomic responses to crises in the Canadian healthcare system, seen in a radical Durkheimian way, reveals a weakening of the conscience collective, traditionally connecting individuals through shared norms, values, and beliefs. The commodification of care frames care practices as market transactions, emphasizing profit, efficiency, and individual responsibilization of personal risks. Yet, I contend modern societies covertly remain driven by symbolic forces of mutual social obligations predating capitalism in the form of symbolic exchange (gifts, altruism), that can problematize the hegemony of neoliberal cultural logic. The symbolic exchange of care argues for a re-imagining of care based on the fundamental societal need for non-economic social relations, interdependency, and moral obligations. These social conditions also facilitate the realization of core aspects of social democracy and social rights that can influence policy decision-making, cultural attitudes, and perceptions of justice and morality in Canada. The symbolic exchange of care framework critiques the commodification of care and encourages exploring contemporary practices and rituals that support social solidarity and help mend the conscience collective. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: