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outcolder's review
4.0
Placing all of these works together makes for interesting connections between the "wages for housework" stuff and feminist anti-globalization actions, and I guess that is mainly about how both proponents of capitalism and "the left" think about the kinds of work traditionally associated with women. I would have appreciated some more editing, though. When you take stuff that was written as an essay for a flyer or as an article in a magazine or worst-case scenario, a blog post... and then you put in a book, I just think someone should go through and clean up and proofread a little and maybe frame each essay with a short paragraph about the original context.
reneoro's review against another edition
5.0
No hay común posible a no ser que nos neguemos a basar nuestra vida, nuestra reproducción, en el sufrimiento de otros, a no ser que rechacemos la visión de un nosotros separada de un ellos. De hecho si el <> tiene algún sentido, este debe ser la producción de nosotros mismos como sujeto común.
claraysa's review
5.0
An amazing and highly digestible feminist & anticapitalist anthology. The essays provide incisive takes on the intersections of feminism, reproductive labor, and the struggle against neoliberalism and capitalism, as well as giving nuanced critiques to the limits of certain leftist & Marxist ideologies. Probably best enjoyed with some background knowledge on feminism, Marxism, and reproductive labor, but still pretty accessible regardless and a relatively comprehensive overview of the subjects as they relate to each other. Really rewarding read that helped me better contextualize and conceptualize feminist struggle and its role in reshaping society and pushing for non-exploitive models of reproduction through community/collective care.
cybrgloss's review
5.0
I’ve long lamented the trend leftist activism & organization has to put mothers, housewives, and reproductive work in general on the back burner so this was perfect. If you’ve ever considered telling homemakers (already burdened under capitalism) that just getting a job was the key to financial liberation and success, read this. Like, now.
themorsecode's review
3.0
Some great points but the format of an essay collection spanning decades leads to repetition and diminishing returns.
tombomp's review
3.0
An essay collection containing essays going from 1974 to its present - the key subjects are
- housework and wages for housework; changing how women's work in the household is viewed and showing that it's an important arena for revolutionary struggle and part of capitalism
- the way anti-capitalist struggle is key to feminism, capitalist advances hurt women most and women are at the forefront of the struggle in many places
- thoughts on anti-capitalist struggle in general; ideas about the commons and what can interrupt the flow of capital
Generally interesting and hits on important topics that groups today need to address. The importance of reproduction is something that needs to be stressed a lot more and it's good to see someone bringing stuff dismissed to the forefront of struggle. The ideas about wages for housework and criticising institutional feminism are the sort of things that should be talked about much more. However, it can be frustratingly shallow because it's a serious of essays and they sometimes cover the same areas, leaving you with the same concept talked about 3 times but always at the same level when you desperately want more. The reproduction stuff is clearly a book-length topic but what it means exactly is kind of vague - she mentions other books in the text but I wish we got more of her own concept of these things. My 3 star rating is reflective of the lack of depth and the repetition involved - some great insights that get a bit buried and can't develop into really movement defining ideas.
To me, the first part focusing on housework and ideas of "women's work" as actual work, resistance, etc was the most interesting and valuable part. The second part, focusing on global feminism and reproduction, was interesting but suffered from lack of detail and repetition - it'd probably be worthwhile reading one of the essays here though. The third part was ok - it had some good information on struggles worldwide and I appreciated her talking about how the elderly need to be considered much more - but it had nothing particularly insightful/unique in my opinion. So probably like 4, 3, 2 stars respectively.
I do think if there was a book covering these topics by her I'd rate it 5 stars. Her theory and approach is generally spot on although I sometimes disagree with her ideas of praxis (too much faith in non-capitalist spaces on their own) and I'm certain she'd do an excellent job. As is, it's a useful but limited primer on some important ideas but not earth shattering.
One last note: "On the one side, there has been the demise of the statist model of revolution that for decades has sapped the efforts of radical movements to build an alternative to capitalism." NO. Ugh. Disappointing to see inaccurate statements about "statism" in a book. In general it's somewhat critical of Marx but sympathetically and seriously.
- housework and wages for housework; changing how women's work in the household is viewed and showing that it's an important arena for revolutionary struggle and part of capitalism
- the way anti-capitalist struggle is key to feminism, capitalist advances hurt women most and women are at the forefront of the struggle in many places
- thoughts on anti-capitalist struggle in general; ideas about the commons and what can interrupt the flow of capital
Generally interesting and hits on important topics that groups today need to address. The importance of reproduction is something that needs to be stressed a lot more and it's good to see someone bringing stuff dismissed to the forefront of struggle. The ideas about wages for housework and criticising institutional feminism are the sort of things that should be talked about much more. However, it can be frustratingly shallow because it's a serious of essays and they sometimes cover the same areas, leaving you with the same concept talked about 3 times but always at the same level when you desperately want more. The reproduction stuff is clearly a book-length topic but what it means exactly is kind of vague - she mentions other books in the text but I wish we got more of her own concept of these things. My 3 star rating is reflective of the lack of depth and the repetition involved - some great insights that get a bit buried and can't develop into really movement defining ideas.
To me, the first part focusing on housework and ideas of "women's work" as actual work, resistance, etc was the most interesting and valuable part. The second part, focusing on global feminism and reproduction, was interesting but suffered from lack of detail and repetition - it'd probably be worthwhile reading one of the essays here though. The third part was ok - it had some good information on struggles worldwide and I appreciated her talking about how the elderly need to be considered much more - but it had nothing particularly insightful/unique in my opinion. So probably like 4, 3, 2 stars respectively.
I do think if there was a book covering these topics by her I'd rate it 5 stars. Her theory and approach is generally spot on although I sometimes disagree with her ideas of praxis (too much faith in non-capitalist spaces on their own) and I'm certain she'd do an excellent job. As is, it's a useful but limited primer on some important ideas but not earth shattering.
One last note: "On the one side, there has been the demise of the statist model of revolution that for decades has sapped the efforts of radical movements to build an alternative to capitalism." NO. Ugh. Disappointing to see inaccurate statements about "statism" in a book. In general it's somewhat critical of Marx but sympathetically and seriously.
alfboyreads's review against another edition
3.75
this was a challenging read for sure and a lot of it went over my head but there is some fantastic feminist analysis of marxist concepts and i learnt about women and susistence farming!! women are very literally the backbone of society and silvia federici KNOWS abt it