“inevitable dependency,” – the type of dependency experienced by all persons at various
stages of their life when they require care to meet fundamental needs for survival and
basic thriving.
Inevitable dependency involves what I call “vertical” dependency, in
which one person is the caregiver and the other the dependent. This type of dependency
stands in contrast with “horizontal” dependency between able adults, in which both are
interdependent with one another and perform caretaking tasks for one another.
Inevitable dependency, although generally overlooked in liberal theory, is a significant
feature of all human lives. As Eva Feder Kittay points out,
nearly two decades are required to train individuals to be ‘fully
cooperating members of society,’ and in all societies approximately ten
childhood years are spent in nearly total dependence on an adult. As we
live longer, a greater portion of our lives is led in a state of frail old age
when, once again, we cannot be fully cooperating members of society.
Despite advanced medical care, serious disabling conditions strike as
much as ten percent of the population of the United States.
It is the issue of the state’s relationship to inevitable dependency that underlies
recent contentious debates in our society concerning welfare reform, foster care,
and family leave.
While few theorists explicitly discuss the family-state relationship, at all, two very
different theorists—civic liberal William Galston,
and feminist theorist Martha Fineman
—have more deliberately discussed this issue. The accounts they have set out provide a
useful starting point for considering the family-state relationship While, Galston posits
that the state’s responsibility to assist families in caring for dependents is triggered only
after families have exhausted their own resources, Fineman contends that the
inevitability of dependency, and the resulting need for carework requires the state to
compensate families for childrearing. Neither of these approaches, however, adequately
conceptualizes the family-state relationship: Galston sees an overly clear demarcation
2
Convention