Elderly: From a "biological-social" old age to a "new" productive aging

Abstract

The aging of the population is characteristic for the contemporary world, and seemingly countries do not have the key to tackle this evolution in the best way. Most countries maintain an old aging paradigm that associates biological aging with functional impairment. In fact, many governments introduced an artificial age line, the so-called retirement age, at which it is assumed that a decline in the functional-intellectual and productive capacities of a human being emerge, generally coupled with a social burden for the state. However, the social life cycle not necessarily corresponds with biological dysfunctionality, delineating a before and after a lifetime in the emotional aspects, self-esteem and interrelation of a person, and which traditionally is based on a denigrating socio-cultural conception of old age associated with dependence. Right in front of this conceptual stigma, this paper attempts to analyze the multiple voices expressing new paradigms of productive age and the various forms of work activities, with direct or indirect economic impact, elderly people can accomplish and help them to stay physically and mentally active and useful to the society.