Care as a Relational Practice
by Lina J. Zinkler and Nils Kampschulte: More information
Lecture with discussion if desired
- Language: German
- Duration: 20–30 mins
- In person
What’s it about?
In current debates, solidarity is often framed as a moral appeal or a political goal; yet in institutional contexts, it frequently remains ineffective and reproduces existing power relations. We therefore propose understanding radical solidarity not as a starting point, but as the outcome of transformed ways of relating. In doing so, we draw on discussions surrounding unconditional solidarity and radical care. Our contribution is situated at the intersection of care ethics, feminist ecology and resonance theory. We argue that social transformation is achieved less through structures than through the way in which relationships are organised and lived out. Following anarchist-feminist perspectives, we understand care not as a moral stance, but as a relational practice capable of disrupting and shifting existing orders. By enabling different ways of perceiving and relating to one another, care opens up new social relationships beyond hierarchy and the logic of exploitation. From this perspective, radical solidarity appears not as a programmatic project, but as an emergent quality of transformed relational practices. It arises where relationships are lived out differently, not only between people, but also in relation to the more-than-human world.
Using the example of our relationship with nature in the Anthropocene, we demonstrate how nature can be understood not as a resource but as an autonomous relational partner. In institutional contexts, tensions become apparent between administrative logics and relational approaches to nature, which are closely linked to the concept of Homo oeconomicus. It follows that social transformation is inextricably linked to a transformation of our relationship with nature. Practices of solidarity must therefore also be conceived as solidarity with nature, which touches upon questions of planetary solidarity and ecological interconnectedness. Our paper is intended as a theoretical and conceptual contribution to the discussion on the relational rethinking of care and radical solidarity, and invites readers to join us in further exploring the tension between structural critique and transformed relational practices.
Aim of the contribution
Our aim is to make radical solidarity tangible, no longer as an abstract programme but as a concretely experiential quality of transformed relational practices. We wish to demonstrate that social transformation is achieved primarily through the way in which we organise and live out our relationships, rather than through structures alone. In doing so, we aim to establish care as a relational practice that can disrupt existing power relations and enable new forms of connectedness. Furthermore, we wish to emphasise the inseparability of social and ecological transformation by consistently extending solidarity to the more-than-human world. Ultimately, we invite readers to join us in further exploring the tension between structural critique and lived relational practices.