Nearly four decades on from the publication of ‘The Aging Enterprise’ this paper provides a critical review of the relationship between gerontology and social policies for older people. To what extent has gerontology moved on from the individualistic approaches highlighted in that pioneering study? Are policy approaches still segmented from broader political and economic considerations? The paper will consider these questions as well as presenting an overview of current challenges facing the social construction of ageing policies, transformed through globalization processes on the one hand, and austerity policies on the other. For many countries this been part of a steady process of marginalising the narrative of the welfare state and associated ideas of social inclusion and social security. The paper will consider the basis for challenging current policies though, first, re-assessing the relationship between the state and social policy; second, developing new forms of empowerment amongst older people themselves.
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