Bakım Nesnesi Olma/Başarılı Yaşlanma Geriliminde Emeklilik, Yaşlılar ve Yeni Emek Piyasası

Year 2025, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 205 - 229, 24.09.2025

Nazife Şişman

Abstract

Neoliberal rasyonalite ile iç içe geçen “başarılı yaşlanma” söylemi, günümüzde sadece Batı toplumlarında değil, küresel ölçekte hâkim paradigma haline gelmiştir. Tıptaki gelişmeler ve uzayan yaşam süresiyle birlikte ortaya çıkan demografik değişim, yaşlılığı bir “çöküş ideolojisi” ile ilişkilendirmekte ve bu sebeple yaşlılık, “bakım yükü” algısı çerçevesinde ele alınmaktadır. Diğer taraftan Amerika ve Avrupa’da refah devletinin gerilemesi, demografik olarak “bağımlılık oranı”nın artışı ve ekonominin krize endeksli yapısı gibi sebeplerle son yıllarda emeklilik süreçleri gittikçe daha zor hale gelmiş; kurumsallaşan emeklilik, bireyselleşen, belirsizleşen bir sürece dönüşmüş ve emeklilik bir dinlenme dönemi olmaktan ziyade “yeni fırsatlar ve yeni ödevler” alanı veya “iyi yaşlanma görevi” olarak yeniden tanımlanmaya başlanmıştır. Bu makalede, “başarılı yaşlanma” paradigmasının, bireysel faillik ve kontrol, bağımsızlığı koruma ve bağımlılıktan imtina etme, üretken eylem becerisine sahip olma, yaşlılığın getirdiği dezavantajları kabullenmeme gibi temaları öne sürerek ve neoliberal rasyonalite ile iç içe geçerek nasıl yaşlı bireylerin bedenlerini, sağlıklarını ve sosyal yaşamlarını yönetme sorumluluğunu bireylerin omuzlarına yüklediği ve bu yaklaşımın yaşlı emeğini, pazarlık gücü olmayan yedek işgücü olarak devreye sokmaya yönelik politikalara işlerlik kazandırdığı ele alınmaktadır.

Keywords

Emeklilik , Pozitif yaşlanma , Başarılı yaşlanma , Aktif yaşlanma , Güvencesiz yaşlanma , Yaşlı işgücü , Neoliberal rasyonalite

Successful Aging or the Object of Care? Aging, Retirement, and Older Adults in the New Labor Market

Abstract

The discourse of “successful aging,” intertwined with neoliberal rationality, has become the dominant paradigm not only in Western societies but also on a global scale. Demographic changes, arising from advancements in medicine and extended life expectancy, link aging with a “decline ideology,” leading to old age being framed within the perception of a “care burden.” On the other hand, in America and Europe, the decline of the welfare state, an increase in the demographic “dependency ratio,” and the crisis-prone nature of the economy have made retirement processes increasingly difficult in recent years. Institutionalized retirement has transformed into a more individualized, uncertain process, redefining it from a period of rest into an arena of “new opportunities and new duties” or a “good aging task.” This article examines how the “successful aging” paradigm, by promoting themes such as individual agency and control, maintaining independence and avoiding dependency, possessing productive action skills, and not accepting the disadvantages of old age, interweaves with neoliberal rationality to burden older individuals with the responsibility of managing their bodies, health, and social lives. It also explores how this approach enables policies that deploy older labor as a powerless reserve workforce.

Keywords

Retirement , Positive aging , Successfull aging , Active aging , Precarious aging , Aging workforce , Neoliberal rationality

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