Excerpts from summary :
Current debates on social inclusion and exclusion have had little to say about children. This limitation is explained in part by the underlying concepts about families and markets that are central to prevailing liberal political and economic theory. Children are assumed to be the private responsibility of parents, and the only work that counts is market-based. This paper argues that the feminist concept of social reproduction offers a corrective. Social reproduction recognizes the bearing and rearing of children as a social responsibility. It views children as citizens and as part of networks of family, community, cultural groups and societal institutions that affect their well-being. It provides a different framework for social inclusion that invites debate about how we maintain and reproduce our society and make children a priority.