Abstract

In this paper, I propose to explore the practices of ordinary citizens in the light of care theories in order to discuss the concept of caring democracy as defined by Joan Tronto. Rethinking citizen engagement in this manner allows care to become a public value. Democratic societies must inevitably consider care because the practice and the ethics of care are the conditions of social citizenship. Based on a qualitative inquiry on social participation, I analyze a polyphony of moral voices at play in social action, thus revealing an alternative to the hegemonic anthropological conception of the homo economicus carried by liberalism. To do this, I propose a typology of citizen practices by classifying their actions according to tensions specific to care practices: visibility/invisibility; audibility/ inaudibility; and formality/informality.