Critique de l'émergence de la notion de qualité de vie. À partir d'une revue de la littérature en sciences sociales

Through a social science books review, mostly in English, this article tries to understand what implies, for patients, the quite new and common appellation Quality of life. Often linked to the contemporary and occidental notion of chronic illness, quality of life rarely refers to precise definitions. As if there was something like a sort of connivance, so consensual, that quality of life doesn't need other words. As if, also, the term quality doesn't have to deal with the usual economic, social and institutional stakes. Despite the good intention of many supporters of this notion, we will see that quality of life can be captured in a culture of performance and individual responsibility, which is not without paradoxes regarding first intentions expected.