Neoliberalising old age / John Macnicol.

"This book explores an issue central to the study of age and ageing: Do we wish to preserve old age as a discrete stage of life, to be protected by welfare policies specifically targeting 'the old'? Should old age be accorded a privileged status? This may recognise the needs of a particular age group with regard to health, income and social care. But by doing so, we support the inaccurate and possibly offensive definition of 'old age' as the stage of life beyond age 65 - a demarcation line which has no biological or cognitive significance, since human beings age at very different rates. Defining old age in this way may ghettoise and marginalise one group of people in society, encouraging prejudice against them via policies that 'single out, stigmatise and isolate the aged from the rest of society', in a way that can be seen as subtly ageist. On the other hand, should we dispense with age as a categorisation and work towards an 'age-irrelevant', 'age-neutral' or 'ageless' society - one in which individuals will be judged by the content of their character, rather than their chronological age? Is the concept of old age an outmoded relic from the past?"-- Provided by publisher.