Silvia Federici

Fascinating and incredibly important book. Covers the history of the end of feudalism, the rise of capitalism, the rise of current patriarchal forms, colonialism, witch hunts and more. Makes it clear that capitalism was founded on the oppression of women and with massive resistance every step of the way. Shows the importance of reproductive control. Talks about the oppressive elements of philosophy from the time. Covers so much that it skips some historical detail but it doesn't matter. An essential book for correcting the male centred perspectives of today as well as linking social rebellion of now to the past. Read this if you're at all interested in feminism or anti-capitalism.

edit: i feel obliged to somewhat temper what i said above 18 months later. I've read fragments about problems with historiography in the book, particularly http://libcom.org/blog/witch-hunts-transition-capitalism-20122011 and reading bits and pieces people who've immersed themselves in the witchhunt literature have said. from what i understand, much of the problem is that a lot more information and research has come out in the last 30-40 years that gives a very different understanding of the political, sociological and legal aspects of it - see http://www.kersplebedeb.com/mystuff/feminist/gibbons_witch.html. the problem is this book focuses on older sources (and has the problem of not always citing properly) which means it uses some inaccurate information and has only a limited perspective simply because the information wasn't widely available or understood at the time the book was written (probably). as someone who's not read other witch hunt stuff i can't comment in detail and I've not seen a more comprehensive criticism, i just think it's important to note and to make sure you don't take all the history as gospel. that's not to smear the book and i still stand by it being a very interesting and important book politically and it's still full of useful history. just wanted to put up some new information… (meer)

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.… (meer)