AIM Framework glossary
Care-Substitution Test
Canonical definition
The Care-Substitution Test is the diagnostic question "Would I be content for someone else to do this work, provided it were done well?" applied to apex governance holders to distinguish genuine I-care (where the governed population's welfare is the Object, regardless of who provides it) from M-contaminated care (where "being the one who cares" is the Object, a status display of virtue whose transfer to another is experienced as status loss).
Explanation
If you would be genuinely happy for someone else to take over governing, provided they did it well and the people benefited, your care is real. If the idea of someone else getting credit for the work makes you resist, even though the population would be equally well served, then it is not the welfare you are attached to but the position. The Care-Substitution Test catches this because genuine care is about outcomes, while M-driven "care" is about being seen as the carer.
Epistemic status
Framework-Specific Diagnostic. Derived from the Care-at-Apex Governance Corollary and the Wanting-Liking Dissociation.