Reclaiming Humanity: Nurse Self-Care as Moral Agency and Self-Transcendence Under Capitalism.

Under capitalist healthcare, nursing labor is subordinated to efficiency and profit, risking nurses' reduction to functional instruments and eroding the ethical essence of care. Nurses experience objectification by others, of themselves, and toward others, leading to moral fatigue and loss of subjectivity. This paper critically examines capitalism's impact on nursing and reconceptualizes self-care as moral agency and self-transcendence. Drawing on Marxian labor theory, Maslow's extended hierarchy, Orem's self-care deficit theory, and Watson's caring science, self-care is conceptualized as a process whereby nurses reclaim autonomy, restore relational integrity, and ultimately achieve moral agency and transcendence. Self-care transforms from an individual coping mechanism into a collective ethical practice challenging capitalism's dehumanizing logic and rehumanizing nursing.

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Abstract

Under capitalist healthcare, nursing labour is vulnerable to subordination to institutional efficiency and profit, fostering the risk that nurses are reduced to functional instruments and thereby eroding the ethical essence of care. Within this structure, nurses are prone to experiencing objectification-by others, of themselves and towards others-resulting in moral fatigue and the loss of subjectivity. This paper critically examines capitalism's impact on nursing and reconceptualises self-care as both moral agency and self-transcendence. Drawing on Marxian labour theory and integrating Maslow's extended hierarchy with Orem's self-care deficit theory and Watson's caring science, the dimensions of self-care are clarified. On this basis, self-care is conceptualised as a process whereby nurses reclaim autonomy and restore relational integrity, ultimately yielding moral agency and self-transcendence. Self-care begins with reclaiming agency amid commodified labour, progresses through reflective awareness and moral practice and culminates in transcendence-whereby caring becomes an authentic, liberating expression of being. Repositioned in this manner, nurse self-care transforms from an individual-level coping mechanism into a collective ethical practice, challenging capitalism's dehumanising logic and rehumanising the nursing profession itself. Trial Registration: Not applicable.