The Exploitation of Caring Communities: The Elder Care Crisis in Germany

Against the background of a crisis of elder care in Germany, this article examines the expansion of informal elder care work in terms of exploitation. A concept of indirect exploitation is used that takes into account the special characteristics of highly feminised elder care work and Germany’s elder care market. The article shows, through an empirical qualitative case study, that Germany’s elder care regime is maintained through the politically supported exploitation of socially vulnerable population groups in favour of lowering the costs of social reproduction in an ageing capitalist society.