Ce mémoire examine le traitement politique des services de garde au Québec, dans son articulation à l'expansion de l'État néolibéral. Nous nous intéressons au rôle attribué à ces services dans la « régulation d'ensemble » de l'économie, à leurs effets sur l'organisation des rapports sociaux de genre et de classe, ainsi qu'aux discours légitimant l'intervention (ou non) de l'État dans ce secteur d'activité. Trois périodes sont examinées : 1) le moment providentiel (1945-1979) ; 2) la période de transition néolibérale (1980-2003) ; 3) le moment néolibéral (2004-2015). Par le biais d'une analyse des publications gouvernementales et de la « littérature grise », nous cherchons ainsi à comprendre les logiques guidant l'élaboration des politiques gouvernementales dans ce domaine. Les principes et les idées dégagées du corpus sont évalués au regard des concepts de défamilialisation, de démarchandisation et de collectivisation. Après avoir soutenu la familialisation des activités domestiques dans l'après-guerre, l'État québécois s'intéresse de plus en plus aux services de garde à partir des années 1980. L'investissement dans ce secteur d'activité connaît ensuite des avancées spectaculaires à la fin des années 1990 avec la création des centres de la petite enfance. Observons qu’au même moment, le gouvernement adopte une série de réformes visant le retour à l'équilibre des finances publiques et la « modernisation » de l'État québécois. On procède alors à des compressions budgétaires importantes dans la plupart des programmes sociaux. Enfin, après avoir rallié la faveur des élu.e.s, la politique de services de garde connaît plusieurs changements au cours des dernières décennies suivantes, menant progressivement à la privatisation de l'offre. Ce changement est principalement observé à travers les phénomènes de fiscalisation des subventions gouvernementales, c'est-à-dire l'investissement dans les programmes fiscaux et l'abandon progressif du principe de prix unique. Ce mémoire vise à contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des débats et des discours entourant les services de garde au Québec depuis l'après-guerre. En retraçant la sociohistoire des services de garde sur le temps long, nous montrons l'influence considérable des discours et des cibles économiques du gouvernement dans l'évolution des politiques publiques rattachées à la petite enfance. / This thesis examines the political treatment of childcare services in the province of Quebec, as it relates to the expansion of the neoliberal state. We focus our attention on the role attributed to these services in the "overall regulation" of the economy, their impact on gender and class relations’ organization, as well as on the rhetoric legitimizing, on the one hand, state intervention in this sector of activity and, on the other hand, its absence thereof. Three periods are examined: 1) the welfare period (1945-1979); 2) the neoliberal transition period (1980-2003); 3) the neoliberal period (2004-2015). Through an analysis of documents (both governmental and from the “grey literature”), we seek to understand the logic guiding the development of government policies in this field. The principles guiding state action in this matter that we have identified are evaluated through the lens of the following concepts: de-familialization, de-commodification and collectivization. After supporting the familialization of domestic activities in the post-war period, the Quebec government became increasingly interested in childcare services in the 1980s. Investment in this sector of activity then experienced spectacular growth at the end of the 1990s with the creation of early childhood centers. At the same time, the government adopted a series of reforms aimed at restoring balance to public finances and the "modernization" of the state. Significant cuts thus followed in most social programs. Finally, after gaining the favor of elected officials, daycare service policy underwent several changes over the following decades, gradually leading to the privatization of services. This change is mainly observed through the taxation of government subsidies, the investment in tax programs and the gradual abandoning of the unique price policy. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the debates and discourses surrounding childcare services in Quebec, in a context of neoliberalization of the state. By studying the social history of childcare services over a long period, we show the influence of government discourse and economic targets on the choice of whether or not to invest in childcare services.

Il presente lavoro intende esaminare il processo di decision making relativo alla politica sociale statunitense sviluppatosi a partire dalla fine degli anni Sessanta, fornendo un’analisi di carattere «istituzionalista» che ponga in rilievo gli snodi cruciali del dibattito relativo al welfare system federale svoltosi sia all’interno del Congresso, sia presso i think tank, i centri universitari, le organizzazioni culturali e religiose, le lobby e le altre realtà associative emerse dalla società civile. In particolare, la ricerca si concentra sull’intreccio tra ideologia politica, mentalità tradizionale, opinione pubblica e interessi specifici, e sull’influsso esercitato dalla dimensione culturale e istituzionale sul processo legislativo. Sono stati individuati quattro principali indirizzi socio-politici, ciascuno dei quali ha avuto un particolare influsso su altrettante ‘fasi’ del processo di riforma del welfare system statunitense svoltosi tra il 1968 e il 2006. L’analisi del dibattito culturale e politico è stata suddivisa pertanto in quattro diversi capitoli (capp. 2-5) che consentono di delineare percorsi distinti per le diverse ipotesi socio-culturali individuate, ai quali viene anteposta una premessa storica relativa alle origini del sistema assistenziale e previdenziale statunitense e alle politiche riformiste degli anni Sessanta (cap. 1). / The dissertation examines the process of decision making that determined the development of U.S. social policy from the end of the Sixties. It analyzes the institutional character of the debate that took place inside the Congress and inside the think tanks, the academic centers, the cultural and religious foundations and other associations. In particular, the research is focused on the tangle between political ideologies, traditional culture, public opinion and legislative process. The dissertation identifies four different socio-political streams: each of them influenced a particular “phase” of the reform of the U.S. welfare system from 1968 up to 2006. The analysis of the cultural and political debate has been divided in four chapters (chapters 2-5) that allow to delineate different developments for the four streams, after an historical premise (chapter 1) that presents the origins of American welfare system, from the colonial times to the Sixties.