More recent affairs and events both at a national and global level have brought to my mind the lack of the kind of citizenly care that Wendy Hollway talks about, which produces a bulwark against political corruption, unbridled market forces or religious fundamentalism, Othering and violence.

‘Louis Cozolino suggests that ‘we are not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of the nurtured’. Therefore, nurturing relationships in our early life are important in helping us develop empathy and healthy relationships and optimal levels of a caring capacity. Wendy Hollway writes that ‘babies are not born with capacities to care and the acquisition of the morality that underpins good caring is a complex and conflictual process  that is an integral part of psychological development’ (p. 5, 2006). She basically suggests that systematic and continuous failure of care have profound impact on a person’s character and how they relate to others, which creates a ripple effect and when whole groups fail to care, cultures of hate, retribution and vengeance can be created that reproduce the traumatic conditions. There is less chance of the kind of citizenly care that produces a bulwark against political corruption, unbridled market forces or religious fundamentalism (p.2, 2006). Hollway’s interesting care ideal suggests that firstly, we are able to engage in reciprocal, independent care receiving and care giving, and secondly, that we can provide non-negotiable, asymmetrical demand for care for (our) children. Thirdly, we are able to take care of the self, and finally, we are capable of extending our care to human and non-human objects such the environment, animals, etc. (p.18, 2006)……’ (Tonya Alexandri)