Reviews

I went into this book knowing that Federici has been criticized for exaggerating the extent of the witch hunt in Europe. So I was enheartened to find this book is about so much more than that. The witch hunt is one example of a war against women, which itself ultimately served as a way to break the strength of poor and working class people. Misogyny destroys resistance in a way analogous to how white supremacy and the invention of race-based chattel slavery broke solidarity between white and black poor people in the colonies. The peasant class had their land stolen, but men were bought off with patriarchy, as women became the new 'commons.'

The most fascinating part for me was Federici's argument that the birth of capitalism required a cultural shift in our ideas about bodies. Capitalism can't function while bodies are sacred and their pleasure and care are prioritized. Bodies have to be neutralized, divided into inert parts that can be controlled by the needs of industry. That chapter alone made the book 5 stars for me.