International Karl Polanyi Society

The Netzwerk Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften is an interdisciplinary network that, since 1992, brings together academics and practitioners in the German-speaking countries with the aim of conceptualizing a socially just and ecologically sound economic system that puts a focus on the highly gendered sphere of paid and unpaid care work. In its 30 years of existence, the network and its members have done pioneering work at the intersection of feminist and ecological economics. In light of an aging population as well as an ontological acknowledgment of interdependence between humans as well as humans and nature, the first webinar will discuss with members of the Netzwerk Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften about the relevance of care in addressing the ecological crisis. Taking advantage of the opportunity that both the 6th Foundational Economy conference and the 31st network meeting of the Netzwerk Vorsorgendes Wirtschaften will take place in Vienna this autumn, the objective of this webinar is to stir a discussion between important figures of the two discourses to discuss how (unpaid) care work builds the invisible basis of our current societies and how an engagement with feminist research on care can strengthen foundational economy approaches towards a social-ecological transformation.