Yaşlılığa Politik Ekonomik Yaklaşım: Carroll Estes Modeli

Abstract

Sosyal politika ve sosyal hizmetlerin temel konularından biri olan yaşlılık, dünya nüfusunun hızla artmakta ve yaşlanmakta olduğu demografik gerçeği nedeniyle gerek bilim insanlarının gerekse politikacıların giderek daha fazla ilgisini çekmektedir. Buna rağmen Türkiye’de, sosyal politikalar ve sosyal hizmetler alanında, lisansüstü düzeyde yaşlılık çalışmalarının sayısı oldukça azdır. Yapılan çalışmalar ise ekseriyetle yapısal-işlevselci yaklaşıma sahip olup eleştirel yaklaşımdan uzaktır. Dolayısıyla bu makalede, yaşlılık çalışmalarıyla ilgili mevcut akademik yazında eksikliğini fark ettiğimiz eleştirel yaklaşıma yer verilmek istenmektedir. Bu bağlamda söz konusu yaklaşıma ait en güçlü örneklerden biri Carroll Estes’e aittir. Estes’in modeli ise Türkçe akademik yazınında ilk kez tüm hatlarıyla tanıtılacaktır. Söz konusu modelde, merkezi fenomen olan yaşlılık, makro düzeyde ideoloji, devlet, cinsiyet sistemi, post-endüstriyel kapitalizm ve küreselleşme, medikal endüstri kompleksi ve yaşlı bakımı girişimleri boyutlarıyla incelenirken mikro düzeyde ise birbirine kenetlenmiş baskı sistemleri olan, sınıf, ırk/etnisite, cinsiyet ve vatandaşlık olguları üzerinden ele alınmıştır. Dolayısıyla oldukça katmanlı olan bu modelin, sosyal politika, sosyal hizmetler ve sosyoloji alanları başta olmak üzere birçok disipline katkı sağlayacağı açıktır. Ayrıca ilgili araştırmacılara da yaşlılık olgusunu anlama ve çözümlemede çok daha geniş bir bakış açısına sahip olmalarına yardımcı olacaktır.

Keywords

• Yaşlılık
• Sosyal politika
• Politik ekonomi
• Eleştirel teori
• Sosyal teori

Political Economic Approach to Old Age: The Carroll Estes Model

Abstract

Aging, a crucial concern within social policy and services, has gained increasing attention from scholars and policymakers because of the accelerating global demographic shift toward the aging population. Despite this, postgraduate studies on aging within Turkey’s social policy and services field remain notably low. Moreover, existing studies predominantly adopt a structural-functional approach, lacking critical analysis. Thus, this article addresses this gap by introducing a critical perspective, notably lacking in current Turkish academic discourse on aging studies. To this end, Carroll Estes’ model, exemplifying such criticality, is presented comprehensively for the first time in Turkish academia. Estes’ model delves into the central phenomenon of aging at both macro and micro levels, scrutinizing ideology, the state, gender system, postindustrial capitalism, globalization, the medical-industrial complex, and elderly care initiatives at the macro level. At the micro level, it examines interlocking systems of oppression, class, race/ethnicity, gender, and citizenship. This multifaceted model promises to enrich various disciplines, particularly social policy, social services, and sociology, offering researchers a broader lens for understanding and analyzing the complexities of aging.

Keywords

• Aging
• Social policy
• Political economy
• Critical theory
• Social theory

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