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Assignment 04

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.