Vulnerability (Not Autonomy) is the Baseline of Economic and Social Functioning

Human beings are universally vulnerable and depend on care throughout the life course, yet economic analyses typically start from assumptions of individual autonomy and overlook the relational conditions that sustain productive functioning. This Article introduces an analytical and diagnostic framework that distinguishes primary vulnerability, defined as observable care needs, from vicarious vulnerability, defined as the cumulative exposure borne by caregivers when care is weakly shared or institutionally buffered. Using harmonized cross‑national indicators, we construct transparent indices of primary vulnerability, vicarious vulnerability, and societal capacity to sustain care, and map their alignment across countries. The results reveal systematic mismatches between care needs, caregiver exposure, and institutional capacity, with caregiver burdens more frequently exceeding what existing systems absorb. The contribution is diagnostic rather than causal: by rendering caregiver exposure statistically visible, the framework provides tools for comparative research on productivity, inequality, and institutional design, and for identifying structural vulnerabilities that remain hidden in standard economic and development metrics.