Feminism for the 99 percent A manifesto

Cinzia Arruzza

Book - 2019

Unaffordable housing, poverty wages, inadequate healthcare, border policing, climate change--these are not what you ordinarily hear feminists talking about. But aren't they the biggest issues for the vast majority of women around the globe? Taking as its inspiration the new wave of feminist militancy that has erupted globally, this manifesto makes a simple but powerful case: feminism shouldn't start--or stop--with the drive to have women represented at the top of their professions. It must focus on those at the bottom, and fight for the world they deserve. And that means targeting capitalism. Feminism must be anticapitalist, eco-socialist and antiracist.

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Subjects
Published
London ; Brooklyn, NY : Verso 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Cinzia Arruzza (author)
Other Authors
Tithi Bhattacharya (author), Nancy Fraser
Physical Description
85 pages ; 18 cm
ISBN
9781788734424
  • Feminism for the 99 percent: a manifesto
  • Postface.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this timely, fiery manifesto, scholars Arruzza, Bhattacharya, and Fraser herald the arrival of a new internationalist, anticapitalist feminist movement. They argue that neoliberal capitalism has caused global economic, social, political, and environmental crisis, and that only a broad-based feminism that prioritizes the concerns of working-class women can create a more stable, equitable, and humane social order. Central to these claims is the authors' observation that the work of social reproduction-the making and maintenance of human beings-is essential, overwhelmingly performed by women, and devalued under capitalism, particularly compared to labor that generates financial profits. Several recent movements have brought attention to the value of having and raising children and have also generated the sort of collective enthusiasm that the authors believe is required to build a mass movement that unites people across identity and class lines. The feminism they describe is universalist and collaborative, in solidarity with antiracist, queer, environmental, migrant, and labor rights movements also endangered by capitalism. Appropriately for a manifesto, the authors emphasize theory, rhetoric, and principle over specific policies and actions, which they assert will emerge only from ongoing collaboration. Readers who seek a big-picture interpretation of contemporary events will enjoy this book, and left-leaning readers with an activist outlook will find it particularly energizing. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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