å Monday, February 27th, 2017

In The Caliban and The Witch, Silvia Federici traces the subjugation of  women and the decline of their status in society, which were rooted in the development of capitalism in Europe in the 1500’s. The rise of the capitalist society as a political economy not only expropriated women from their means of production and labor power, it also enslaved women as a domestic non-waged worker, and made them property of their husbands. Women’s participation in society was diminished with the regulations and violence imposed by the sate. Women became alienated from their own species being, and without access to their reproductive rights, they became machine-like entities to produce the proletariat class, the cheap labor for manufacture  that created the surplus value and accumulation of capital for the bourgeois class. These dynamics not only applied for women in Europe, but expanded to the women of the American colonies and the African women that were forced to work in sugar, cotton and rum plantations.

The appropriation of land by part of the state and the lost of the means of subsistence for rural families and women workers of the Medieval Europe were the beginning of a number of changes that generated the degradation of the status of women in society. The redistribution of land and wealth favored the bourgeois class that collected money and products from agricultural workers who were left to live on the streets. Capitalism would generate a rearrengemnt of classes. The capitalist who owns the means of production, and the proletariat, who has labor power. However, women would not be allowed to sell their labor power under capitalism. Women would be subjugated to work for their husbands without receiving wages, to do the housework without recognition, to prostitute themselves on the streets in order to get food.

Without land to work, women were taken away from their labor power and the production of their own crafts and social life. The commonality of production favored the interaction of women until the new mode of production was imposed by the capital system. Women would suffer poverty, famine, and would revolt against their oppressors and would pay a high price for it. Women were forced to leave the public space and to be secluded into a domestic space where her presence became invisible for society even though the hard work and demands imposed in the house by her husband.

Also the regulations of the state in regard to reproductive rights would impose women to populate Europe and America to generate armies, to replenish the factories with workers, to travel overseas and participate in genocide in the extraction of slaves, goods and materials form the colonies. Women’s  reproductive bodies were the cheapest way to get workers, to sell slaves and to produce surplus value and accumulation of capital. Women were tortured, killed and treated as witches for standing for themselves and for denouncing their unjustified mistreatment and subjugation in society.

In Caliban and the Witch, Federichi reveals the brutal truth about capitalism. I found this appealing, because within today’s society, capitalism and everything it “offers”, is romanticized. And sometimes, we cannot help to believe this, at least one point in our lives, because of the states success in glorifying it. Capitalism is however misconstrued; Capitalism was built on the subjugation of women. Federichi explains this in detail, by reviewing the history and the “transition to capitalism.”

Federichi examines this period in history and first notes that this was not a period of social progress, even though many believed it to be so. When the women’s main role of being a housewife changed, they faced social degradation and as as results they were financially dependent to their husbands. Where women had almost no way of gaining an income, this economic separation of the genders forced women to have no place in their new society. They were viewed instead as property. Women were perceived as incapable and only useful for the means of reproduction. Federichi describes this by dating back to the 1500s of the population crisis. From my understanding of the reading, Europe was so substantial on increasing population because, the economy was so heavily dependent on labor, and labor required people. Therefore, they mandated women as criminals if they chose not to procreate. They viewed them as a necessity, and treated them as property and stole them of their autonomy and freedom. This showed the degradation of women and how powerful the European control was. Women were threatened of their basic rights. They had no control of their own bodies and reproduction. It was even viewed as a crime if there was any proof of birth controls. I found most appalling in the reading when males were apparently viewed as the true “givers of life” when male doctors delivered babies. This just furthered showed how meaningless women were perceived to be. Europe’s coercion of women reproduction was almost this product of capitalism. Because labor expansion was so important, capitalism was fixated on the degrading and exploitation of women, whatever means necessary.

In The Caliban and the Witch, author Silvia Federici believes that capitalism is keen to sexism and racism, as a social, economic system. Throughout the first chapter of her writing, she is able to describe the degradation that women face. The author talks about the exploitation of European workers, the enslavement of African Americans and Native Americans for the “New World”,  the transformation of a body to a work machine, the destruction of women’s power in not only Europe but America as well, and primitive accumulation (Federici, page 63). She puts a great amount of focus on the extermination of the “witches”, also known as the “Great Witch Hunt”, which occurred in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Silvia Federici argues that the Great Witch Hunt is one of the main reasons why it was possible to destroy the power of women in Europe, as well as America. As many would like to relate capitalist accumulation with the liberation of the workers, male and female alike, she believes you could not. Federici argues that instead capitalism has invented more savage forms of enslavement, and creates deeper divisions, especially between men and women (Federici, page 64). The merchant capitalists during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries took advantage of the cheap labor force of that time, and the “informal economy” was built from the labor of women and children, whose work did not match the low wage they received (Federici, page 72). Women also began getting themselves involved in riots, resisting against enclosure, the fencing of land and draining of fens. It was believed that they were strong and confident enough to stand up and speak up because they were technically above the law, legally “covered” by their husbands. However, the government was quick to take that privilege away and started arresting women who were involved in the riots. When their lands were lost and communities fell apart due to the enclosure, women suffered heavily. It was much harder for women to become vagabonds or migrant workers, they were less mobile because they had to take of the children or were pregnant, and the option of joining the army as a cook, washer, prostitute, etc. was taken away by the seventeenth century. It had become more difficult for them to support themselves than men and became increasingly confined to reproductive labor (Federici, page 73-74). Reproductive work continued to be paid, however at really low rates and was then even labelled as “women’s labor”. Women were not given a variety of waged occupations, and if they did happen to find one, their wage was almost nothing compared to the average male salary. These unfortunate changes redefined women’s position in society, left reproductive work as their only option, and increased their dependence on men (Federici, page 75).

In Chapter 1 of The Caliban and the Witch, Sylvia Frederici discusses the relation between capitalism and both the racist and sexist ideals in which it promotes.

The population crisis in the 16th and 17th centuries was a pivotal issue that was used by capitalists, in their favor, to justify the humiliation of women.  The decline in population was a threat to the capitalist economy because the size of the labor force was central to the economic life.  Capitalists believed the notion that a large population was key to prosperity.  In other terms, these capitalists now had more people and labor to exploit.  Believing that a higher population equates to a more prosperous economy and society, the state began to intervene, launching a war against women that stripped from them the rights to their bodies.  Harsh penalties were enacted against women who sought out contraceptives and abortions, and women were forced to procreate against their will.  The female body was looked at as an instrument solely for reproduction and its’ contribution to expanding the work-force.

Most women were denied work opportunities by craftsmen and other employers, which left them with only few options.  House work, one of the few spheres women were able to complete tasks, was deemed as “non-work.”  The few women that were employed outside the home were payed cheap wages, significantly lower than those distributed to men.  Policies were enacted by the state that made it nearly impossible for women to be financially independent, despite their efforts and dedication to their work.  The sexual division of labor was thus created once alliances between urban authorities and craftsmen were formed with intentions of privatizing land and spaces.

The sexual division of labor that arose during the early stages of capitalism dismissed the ability of women to participate in daily activities.  Although not as blatantly discriminatory as it was in its beginning, capitalism still maintains racist and misogynistic undertones that target the minorities of the particular society that it’s implemented in.

In The Caliban and the Witch, by Silvia Frederici she describes the degradation of women, and this economic and political system in association with labor force. She discusses woman being oppressed under strong domination in the work force leaving them powerless. Women were looked at as inferior to men causing a mass of division in the workforce as well. This manipulation of women only benefited one side, Frederici said it herself that capitalism has formed enslavement serving to identify and conceal exploitation. In the midst of creating a capital base this system was  humiliating the working class woman.

From the beginning of the Woman’s Movement, women were socially unequal to men. Looked at as only child bearers, sexual beings, wives, and pro creators. This sexual division of labor caused woman to be associated with reproduction and the female body itself was an accumulation of wealth ” in the development of new reproductive technologies that reduce women to wombs” (Frederici,17). Another form of power was the control of the human body also known as “valorization”, without permission their bodies were social, political, and economic machines by the government just to attain capital. This government fed off of the lives of others who they viewed to be subordinate.

Extreme poverty arose due to the lack of wages these women attained during the wage collapse. Woman struggled to support themselves because they received half of the pay a man would receive and for the same exact job. By the 16th century they couldn’t support themselves by agriculture, manufacturing, or wage work, therefore prostitution was on the rise during this time. Their independence was gone being forced to depend on men and they were put into a position of economic dependence. Consequently transitioning from feudalism to capitalism woman endured indignity that was significant in the accumulation of wealth in a capitalist economy.

In The Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Frederici definitely puts into perspective how much of an influence the economy has had over women’s rights throughout history. Due to land privatization and enclosures, citizens were losing their land and taxes were being increased. Many were affected but women suffered the most. Women were not being hired and if they were lucky to find jobs, they were paid the very least to work in uncomfortable settings. It was also difficult for women to move to other cities to find jobs elsewhere due to male violence and the duty of bearing children. Elderly women who lost the support of their children suffered the most; not being able to fend for themselves.

What stuck out to me were the similarities of the enclosure riots and the food-riots of England. The enclosure riots consisted of mostly all women rebels, protesting the social class and economic differences. During the beginning of these riots, women were considered “protected” under the law by their husbands; so much so that men would also dress up like women to be shielded when participating. This continued to happen until the government started making arrests for those involved.

During the food-riots, the prices of food increased tremendously; making it impossible for women without jobs to provide for their families. This, again, created a strong female presence in the fight for equality. Frederici then proceeds to mention that many women protested by bombarding bakeries, demanding food and supplies. When successful, the men would carry out bags of food away. I noticed how, in both these riots, it was always the women who saw the importance of equality, not only for themselves, but for their families, but it was always the men who were piggy-backing off their cause. It seemed as though the men would only want to help if they weren’t the people receiving the front-end of the consequences.

The degradation of women that Federici describes is that women had no control of their body. They were limited to what they could and couldn’t do by the government. The government also passed a couple of laws saying that if they used any contraception, have an abortion, and infanticide (killing the baby) they would be considered a criminal/murder and receive capital punishment. This was going to far for just trying to increase the work force because women’s body was a tool for the men to use, they could be raped anytime like the slaves (African American during and after slavery was abolished), they were being stalked by the government (that way the government can determine how much kids there is to increase the workforce), and were unable to see to their child after giving birth to them. So much of women’s rights have been taken away and they were being treated like a toy (slut, looked down upon, etc…).

I think the wealth in capitalist political economy also played a role, where women was being paid less compared to the men. This forces the women to either get married (rely on the men) because their income was too low to support themselves (they were being paid like half of what the men would get paid for working the same amount of hours and job) and that way the income of the men will be able to support them. This however forces the women to be a housewife by taking care of everything in the house (domestic work like knitting clothes and selling it became an option until the textile industry replaced that completely changing the roles of women again) and the child. Also when the economy was really bad, a group of women would go on a protest to steal food from bakery and the rich in order to support themselves or their family because their job wasn’t enough to support them (low pay) and there wasn’t enough money to go around so people were starving.

Today this is still happening, but more like a double standard kind of thing. For example if a women work in the adult industry (prostitution/porn) they would be called slut and etc… If they decide to look for another job after quitting the adult industry they would be unable to escape the industry because people think it is bad influence on society so they would be stuck making their own company or try finding something else to do (this is kind of hard to explain). Overall, I think women are still being treated unfairly (some times you will hear the sexual harassment at work, being raped [I guess rape culture is a pretty harsh topic too], etc…), but for the most part our generation has been more accepting (we are pretty open-minded even though we wouldn’t want to admit certain stuff like saying we are racist or something, were more of the treat others the way you want to be treated kind of type I think). This also depends on the person (nature vs nurture) and how they were raised.

he degradation of women was not surprising to me.   Women could not obtain some jobs for pay, however they were allowed to join only to be the supporters or pleasers of men, for example, become cooks, washers, prostitutes, and wives.  As usual, it is more difficult for women to independently support themselves rather than a man’s ability to support himself. Because of this, women were confined with reproductive labor, occupations that were devalued, and were excluded from many occupations.  Not only that, but they would be paid the lowest rates.  Women were basically ripped away from their rights to be equal by a man, and the capitalist economy used this to their own advantage.  The labor power of women slowly decreased and their dependence on men increased.  During this time the price revolution and the wage collapse had heavily affected women. Their wages compared to their male counterparts were decreasing as the years went on. This also led to the shortage of food/bread. The wealthy were the ones who received the best bread.  Because of this, the outrage of the poor women resulted in them demanding bread in and doing so in unethical ways. The dehumanization of women became a way to normalize the corruption of the wealth in a capitalist economy.  Not paying women the same as men, or even restricting them for getting paid downgraded women even though they were doing the same work as men.  This gave them less value, while at the same time the government benefits their wealth by keeping the money they save from the work labor that they are not paying these women.

This is similar to society today. Unbelievingly, we still have a pay gap for women working the same job as men.  This is degrading to women because it makes them seem like they are not as worthy as men in the workforce. Or when the government taxes tampons as “luxury goods” as if women can control their bodies.  This is just a couple examples how the degradation of women adds to the  wealth in a capitalist political economy today.

In the Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federichi explains that the sexual division of labor was used as a capitalist tool for accumulating wealth and preserving power among white men. Being women was a disadvantage for this time because gender became a decisive factor of class relations. The mere fact of being a woman gave the right to their bosses to pay them less money than the men for their work. Prostitution, servitude and housewives became the exclusive labors for women. For example, women were not able to become soldiers for pay; instead some joined armies as cooks and other positions related to their gender.

With the development of capitalism the reproductive labor was devaluated at a point that women need men to survive. Women had a very hard time getting monetary resources, therefor having commodities, such as food, almost impossible to obtain leaving them with no options but to get undervalue goods. Economy growth helped out the nations wealthiest, but leaving the poor in a more critical state than what they already had. Small business like food supplier had their goods bought by the rich with no problem but women had no other options but to beg on streets or in storefronts. Women had no means of getting any benefit from this economy boom that was happening. Riots erupted as one could imagine and crime went up especially in the steal factor because woman often used to steal crops from their neighbors. The poor where so infuriated that they started burning property’s that belonged to the rich.

The persecutions of “witches” affected woman’s main role of reproduction and how they behave. Women had to be more careful of their actions if not they could be judged wrongly. Women reproductive function declined creating a crisis since with no reproduction no new generations were being born this lead to the creation of punishment toward woman that did not perform their role of reproduction.

I found Frederici’s “The Caliban and the Witch” fascinating for not only debunking the standard Marxist understanding of the transition to capitalism, but also for explaining the impact the elite and primitive accumulation on women and society as a whole. Frederici’s analysis explains that subjugating women was not simply a byproduct or collateral damage of a progression towards capitalism – but a necessity. While Marx made it clear that moving towards capitalism would, in a way, dehumanize the individual by putting focus and priority on work, he neglects to look at the specific victims of this and the impact that would have on society as a whole. Frederici makes it clear that certain demographics (women and minorities) suffered in worse conditions and were taken advantage of more than the average member of the proletariat.  Frederici’s claim is that women were considered the Caliban (from Shakespeare’s The Tempest) and witches.

In the Middle Ages, women were able to be somewhat self-sufficient in terms of wages and working conditions. But the dominant classes in society tried to maintain their dominance by subjugating women and essentially pushing them out of the labor market (Frederici sites witch-hunts as an almost manipulative move by the dominating powers to remove women from the work force or make them less desirable workers). While reading this, I found it shocking to think that hierarchal forces in society could create a conspiracy-like narrative that would force women to remain unpaid laborers in the home. It is devastating to see how removal of communal property and land impacted people’s ability to access work and food – ultimately forcing the working class to depend on the elite for working wages and food.

I have always wondered why it was so accepted that women should be housewives and assumed it was a product of motherhood. Frederici shows that witch-hunts, unfair imprisonment, social rejection for not having children or speaking out against sexual violence, the progression of the slave trade and more – were facilitated so that the elite could retain power. I understand why Frederici is against globalism and how skewed the potential benefits of a capitalist economic system really are. Those who have the means to accumulate property and assets can progress at the expense of the individuals beneath them.