‘

Assignment #10

Hoshchild, Isaksen and Devi argue that “the commons” are eroded as women migrate outside their countries producing what they term as a “care drain.” This “care drain” is the movement of women from their native countries into first world countries to secure jobs in nursing or as domestic workers. Following the assumption laid out that women are the main care givers in these cultures it follows that as women leave their own families to care for those of their employers in the north their own children suffer the loss of their primary caregiver. While the term “common” was previously used to describe communal lands in 15^th century Europe, they have added on to this term to bring about the idea of a “social-emotional commons” (407). This social- emotional commons relies on the trading of services and goods within a society. These “global care chains” exist in order to move capital from the south to the north through care labor but also from the north to the south in the form of money and presents. This money and gifts sent to relatives and their children are what supply the commons with more material capital. Through understanding how the commons work and how capital is moved we can better understand why migration is seen as “eroding the commons”. For children left behind the absence of mothers which are seen to be the pillars of culture and care caused grief. Many children and adults expressed dissatisfaction at having their mothers leave and the bonds that were unable to form because of this. Some even felt resentment towards their mothers and insisted that the material wealth created through migrating were not worth the destabilization of their family lives and childhoods. Through these accounts we see that while migration serves as a way to bring capital to third- world countries it causes what the authors believe to be a break down in the commons and in family structures in these countries. While economic capital is brought in care capital is exported leaving generations of children raised by aunts, and grandparents. I believe it’s important to be critical of these conclusions. Would children feel this amount of grief if women were seen differently in their societies? Can women ever be both economic women and caring mothers?