The ethics of autonomy and dignity in long-term care

Efforts to address the "paradox of autonomy in long-term care" attempt to s alvage an ethic of autonomy by redefining the central concept, and then app lying it to the long-term care environment. Such attempts are critiqued, an d an alternative ethic of dignity for long-term care is developed. Autonomy , it is argued, is crucial to certain aspects of dignity, but should not be confused with the whole of it. Indeed, long after the capacity for autonom y has diminished or vanished, basic dignity continues to exert normative fo rce.