Abstract
The perception of childhood in social, economic and political theory as well as practice is vague, unclear and ambiguous. While on one side children are seen as precious beings, on the other they are perceived as a burden to their parents and to society. This ambiguity is connected with two interdependent socioeconomic and sociopolitical shifts, concerning children’s economic role and the generational division of labour on one hand and old age security, the generation contract and the welfare state on the other. In both realms this ambiguity is due to tendencies of increasing marginalization and exclusion of childhood.
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© 2005 Helmut Wintersberger
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Wintersberger, H. (2005). Work, Welfare and Generational Order: Towards a Political Economy of Childhood. In: Qvortrup, J. (eds) Studies in Modern Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230504929_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230504929_12
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