Gender Inequality: “Caliban and the Witch” by Federici

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Table of Contents

Federici as a Feminist
Gendered Bodies
Primitive Accumulation
Conclusion

Federici as a Feminist

The ideas presented by Silvia Federici in “Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation” are feminist in nature, but the views of the author are presented in a much more detailed way with the analysis of historical events and changes in philosophy over centuries. Federici shows the fall of female ability for autonomy and the rise of patriarchal societies as a result of an emerging emphasis on global trade and the perceived notion that the wealth of the country is directly tied to its capability to create new members of the workforce. Her main argument lies in the destruction of female ability to produce capital due to the extreme focus of the government on reproduction.

Aside from the removal of women from certain positions in the workforce, the traditional role of the midwife was also replaced by doctors as a way of preventing infanticide. Federici is a feminist in not only her focus on female rights of autonomy but also in her examination of the reasons behind the dramatic difference in gender roles in capitalist societies in comparison to medieval or non-capitalist political systems. Her argument is very convincing due to the detailed references she provides, such as the records of witch trials and how they were used to enforce a patriarchal society.

Gendered Bodies

One of the most interesting elements of Federici’s argument is the effect that the introduction of capitalism had on the female body. Her description of the tactics that governments used to boost population numbers presented a grotesque picture of a woman being used almost as a human farm. Children can then be seen as products and tools that are used for the profit of the country. I was aware of this process, but its origins in the early capitalist policy were unknown to me. The dehumanizing and degrading view of women, which is reflected by such policies, rings true even today. While the strict control of pregnancies and abortions is not practiced by the majority of countries, the increased emphasis on birth rates and family units by modern governments seems to serve a similar purpose.

Primitive Accumulation

The idea of primitive accumulation is central to Federici’s argument. It describes a process of transformation of pre-capitalist modes of production into the capitalist one. While Marx saw it as a brutal but overall progressive change for society, Federici’s argument shows that primitive accumulation is a damaging and regressive process due to the consequences it brought not only to women but also countries that were subject to colonization by capitalist countries. Her main points concern the fact that the role of women regressed under capitalist regimes, natives of colonized countries were exploited and degraded, and overall it is difficult to call this process progressive when it caused a regression for so many people.

Conclusion

Federici’s Caliban is a powerful exploration of the nature of capitalism and the roots of gender inequality in the modern world. The picture of primitive accumulation consequences that she presents is terrifying and should be researched further. The prevalence of inequality in modern society showcases that even in the late stages of capitalism, these issues were not resolved. The large span of time that Caliban covers makes it slightly difficult to read, but the scope of the argument requires such attention to history, as the roots of inequality can only be shown by putting them into the proper historical context. Nevertheless, Federici’s argument is convincing, detailed, and deserves additional attention.

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Gender Inequality: “Caliban and the Witch” by Federici

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