PHIL 242 Lecture Notes - Heidi Hartmann, Labour Power, Dialectic
17 Mar 2014
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Phil 242 - on women and the economy. (compare current debates about how to address poverty/inequality and other social issues. ) A traditional left-wing answer: the main force hurting women is poverty and need if we build a fairer society with rewarding work for everyone, women will naturally be in a better situation. One understanding of capitalism: a lot of people (say 99%) work very hard and barely get enough to meet their needs. Meanwhile, their work greatly benefits the very few. The dialectic of sex as radical feminists present it projects male and female characteristics as they appear in the present back into all of history. To understand women"s situation in the modern world, you have to understand how it fits into the economy: The oppression of women in our society takes the form it does because of the ways women"s work serves capital. The system only works if people produce the materials needed to meet everyone"s needs.
