Colonial state refused welfare by delegating early childcare to mothers and private institutions

Evidence

What the board had the temerity to assail was the sacred retreat of the colonial state from broad public assistance. Instead, the commission insisted on the government’s obligation— not that of private and religious organizations alone—to provide financial support for early rearing (opvoeding) of small children, not just education (onderwijs) in later years. The retort of the Minister of Colonies was sharp and clear: staatszorg (state care) was not to replace moederzorg (mothercare). Education was in the state’s jurisdiction, upbringing of small children was not. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 850

Categorization

• DEFINE: The staatszorg/moederzorg distinction and the opvoeding/onderwijs (upbringing/education) split are key conceptual tools for the book’s argument about where colonial responsibility was drawn.