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The Child of the Common: Governing Children in the Freetown Christiania, Denmark
Author(s) -
Wasshede Cathrin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1111/chso.12211
Subject(s) - individualism , collectivism , autonomy , sociology , power (physics) , corporate governance , gender studies , political science , law , management , physics , quantum mechanics , economics
Children in the intentional community of Christiania, Denmark, are seen as belonging to a flock. They experience a relatively high degree of freedom and autonomy as well as collective supervision/control. Departing from Foucault's conceptualisation of pastoral power and interviews conducted in Christiania, this article explores what the idea of the child as belonging to the common/collective may imply for the governance of children. A unique combination of freedom and supervision, individualism and collectivism, results in a form of responsibilisation that aims to strengthen the community, unlike neo‐liberal responsibilisation, which leaves the individual alone with the freedom to take care of herself.