This paper examines aging through a political economy lens, drawing on Marxian concepts of labour, value, and social reproduction to analyse how older adults are positioned within contemporary welfare regimes. In capitalist economies, the biomedicalization of ageing increasingly frames older adults in terms of decline, dependency, and diminished social value. Such reductionist frameworks sustain profit driven medical systems that individualize responsibility for ageing while obscuring broader structural conditions. This market-oriented approach contributes to the commodification of care, producing inequalities in access and outcomes, and thereby fostering “eldercide” (Gullette 2024). Using the state of Kerala in India as a critical case, this paper examines a range of welfare interventions and policies implemented by the state government, and illustrates an alternative framework of a moral economy grounded in use value. Kerala offers a significant site for analysis, as it is the first and only state in the country led by the Communist party of India (Marxist) to establish a state level statutory body called the Kerala Senior Citizens Commission (2025), along with other welfare interventions for older adults. By situating Kerala in relation to ageing regimes in the Global North, this paper argues that aging can be partially decommodified through state-supported social and care infrastructures. It concludes that while alternative models of ageing are possible, they remain structurally constrained within a broader capitalist framework.

Authors:
Harishma A Gireesh, National Institute of Technology Warangal, India
Amrutha S L, PSGR Krishnammal College for Women, India

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Amrutha SL is an early-career researcher in Neurodiversity Studies and Disability Studies. She has published in Q1/Q2 journals and is developing her PhD into a Taylor & Francis monograph while pursuing postdoctoral opportunities.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ harishma-gireesh-42b6321b9

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harishma-A-Gireesh-2

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