@article{ART003306578},
author={Yong Taek Jeong},
title={Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene},
journal={Cross-Cultural Studies},
issn={1598-0685},
year={2026},
volume={77},
pages={479-511}
TY - JOUR
AU - Yong Taek Jeong
TI - Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene
JO - Cross-Cultural Studies
PY - 2026
VL - 77
IS - null
PB - Center for Cross Culture Studies
SP - 479
EP - 511
SN - 1598-0685
AB - The main arguments of this study are as follows. First, the planetary Capitalocene is not merely an era in which capitalism has expanded to a global scale, but a field of conflict where Capital’s universal history (History 1) and plural histories (History 2s), constituted by the politics of human and non-human attribution, constantly interrupt and disturb each other’s narratives. Second, care is located at the most radical point of collision in this field of conflict, that is, the “frontline of value regimes.” It constitutes the socio-ontological foundation upon which capital’s world-ecology inevitably relies, even while being systematically devalued by the law of value. Third, therefore, the political economy of care is not simply an ethical appeal to recognize the value of care labor, but a civilizational task to transform the capitalist value regime itself and to seek a new planetary social contract. Fourth, this task requires Marxism to recover its socio-ontological foundation—a humanistic interest in the life activity conditions of humans and nature—and to restart as a critical theory that places care, dependency, and life maintenance at the center, moving beyond the narrow economic categories of “production/labor.” Through these arguments, this study aims to make three academic contributions. First, it attempts a new synthesis crossing Marxism, feminism, and postcolonial theory by expanding the Capitalocene discussion to the dimension of planetarity and re-establishing the theoretical status of care via Dipesh Chakrabarty’s concept of History 2. Second, by applying Don Kalb’s concept of “value regime” to care studies, it reveals that care is not merely a sub-category of reproduction but the core of political issues where the law of value and moral economy collide. Third, it presents a new starting point for Marxist critical theory by re-illuminating Marx’s socio-ontological presuppositions via the recent works of Søren Mau and Kenneth Knowlton Jr., and positioning care as the core of such presuppositions. Ultimately, this study intends to ground the political economy of care as a theoretical and normative resource that enables the imagination of alternative social forms in the era of planetary crisis.
KW - Planetary Capitalocene;Political Economy of Care;Value Regime;History 2;Socio-ontological Presupposition
DO -
UR -
ER -
Yong Taek Jeong. (2026). Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene. Cross-Cultural Studies, 77, 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. 2026, "Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene", Cross-Cultural Studies, vol.77, pp.479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong "Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene" Cross-Cultural Studies 77 pp.479-511 (2026) : 479.
Yong Taek Jeong. Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene. 2026; 77 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. "Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene" Cross-Cultural Studies 77(2026) : 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene. Cross-Cultural Studies, 77, 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene. Cross-Cultural Studies. 2026; 77 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene. 2026; 77 479-511.
Yong Taek Jeong. "Care as the Frontline of Value Regimes: The Political Economy of Care in the Planetary Capitalocene" Cross-Cultural Studies 77(2026) : 479-511.
