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19 Med., Health Care & Phil. 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/medhcph19 and id is 1 raw text is: Med Health Care and Philos (2016) 19:1-2 DOI 10.1007/s11019-015-9679-9 I I) I () I \ Caring for the elderly Bert Gordijnl - Henk ten Have2 Published online: 11 December 2015 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015 Sin (2016) explores different consequentialist approaches towards analyzing filial obligations in relation to parents in need of care. Undoubtedly, the question of filial duties is important. It is therefore remarkable that there is relatively little thorough research on this subject in contemporary academic literature. Yet, the analysis of ethical obligations concerning elderly care would be incomplete without a complementary consideration of the ethical responsibilities of the state. There are at least four arguments to support this claim. Individualism Arguably, powerful ideas centering on the individual per- meate many aspects of economically developed societies. Never before has there been so much cultural emphasis on self-actualization, education, career, upward mobility, personal development and the like. The focus on the individual easily equals the strength of individualism in renaissance Italy or 17th century Amsterdam. In contrast to previous historical periods though, individualist ideas are today substantially more widespread. In an increasing number of countries, for instance, women are seen as equally entitled as men to enjoy higher education and pursue a career. Similarly differences in ethnicity and social class are less and less regarded as legitimate justi- ® Bert Gordijn bert.gordijn@dcu.ie Dublin, Ireland 2 Pittsburgh, USA fications for unequal access to a good education. The equalizing influence of the idea of human rights may lie at the basis of these social changes. Be this as it may, his- torically, the idea that every single member of society, whatever their gender, ethnicity or social class, is entitled to pursue a full suite of avenues of self-actualization is unparalleled. In addition to the many blessings of indi- vidualism, however, it has also significantly increased the internalization costs of strong conceptions of filial obliga- tions in terms of long-term care for parents. Geographic mobility and migration People are more mobile than ever before, both within single countries and between different nation states. The reasons are multifarious and complex. Better transport technologies and infrastructure certainly play a role. Also many industries and markets all over the world have lib- eralized and deregulated during the last few decades. Corporations, NGOs, civil society organizations and aca- demia have increased their geographical radius of action. Mobility for economic and job reasons has increased enormously. Obviously, wars, conflicts and political sup- pression also cause a good deal of international migration. The global number of international migrants reached 232 million in 2013. The number had risen by over 77 million between 1990 and 2013 (United Nations 2013, 1). This means that, on average, people live farther away from their parents. Gone are the days where it was likely that people lived and died in the same place where they were born. It goes without saying that this has complicated and in many cases made it practically impossible for children to per- sonally care for their parents in any meaningful long-term way. I Springer CrossMark

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