It seems to me that gender and race have been occupying an increasing
share of left thinking and organization since the 1960s, and class a much
smaller share. Economistic and class-centered thinking may have been
dominant at one time, but this doesn't seem an adequate characterization
of present reality. It seems a riper time to bring class back into the
analysis, now fully aware of the subtleties of class and race. It's
ironic that while the economy globally is behaving in its most "Marxist"
fashion in 65 or 80 years (take your pick) - globalization, the attack on
the welfare state, intensified competition, social and economic
polarization, rapid technological change, the end of oligopoly - and with
a tremendous but unformed discontent among what used to be called the
masses, the left completley lacks an analysis or vocabulary for dealing
with the situation in practical political terms.
Doug
Doug Henwood [[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Left Business Observer
212-874-4020 (voice)
212-874-3137 (fax)
On Tue, 19 Jul 1994, Julie Matthaei wrote:
> Reading the suggested texts on Marx and Engels' critiques of utopian
> socialism brings to mind my experiences when first reading them. In short,
> I believed them, and never bothered to read any of the "utopian socialists."
> Now, almost twenty years later, and searching for a feminist and anti-racist
> view of socialism, I have learned that many of the "utopians" were feminists
> and seriously took into account issues of family and housework; Marx's critique
> of them, and his redefinition of socialism, narrowed the conceptual/political
> arena to class and class only. So now feminist economists such as Nancy
> Folbre are rediscovering the utopians, while others that are left are
>strugglingstill to make gender and race central to Marxist theory. Now for figuring
>out
> how to really incorporate feminist and anti-racist analysis into our models of
> socialism -- ANY IDEAS?????
>
> Julie Matthaei [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
