Marxism and Gender

Historical Materialism

The two-dimensional woman: capital(ism) and domestic labor in light of Robert Kurz’s writingsThis communication aims to present the theory of value-dissociation (Wert-Abspaltung) of the German EXIT! Group in light of the writings of its main figure: Robert Kurz. This theory posits the centrality of gender relations for the capitalist macro-social reproduction. According to Kurz, modern society is a broken totality co-constituted by two different logics that, nevertheless, are mutually presupposed. On the one hand, the economy – structurally connoted as masculine – is the disembedded space-time of capital, abstract labor and value. Instrumental rationality, calculability, efficiency and competition among individuals are the rule within it. On the other hand, those activities, symbolic interactions, psychosocial features and emotional traits indispensable for the reproduction of the whole, but that do not fit the abstract corporate (ir)rationality, are dissociated from the official sociability of value and historically delegated to women as subordinate moments. This dissociation sexually connoted as feminine finds its most palpable expression in domestic labor. Women are disproportionally responsible for a set of domestic activities (cooking, cleaning, ironing, etc.), for raising children, for taking care of the elderly and, furthermore, for the symbolic construction of the home as a gentle refuge from the hardships of public life where love, sensibility and relaxation prevail. The increased proportion of female wage-laborers in the last decades does not contradict the overarching social relation of value-dissociation, since women: a) are almost always doubly socialized, that is, they accumulate their jobs with the execution of the domestic tasks; b) Are obliged to adopt, in the economic sphere, the psychosocial traits of the androcentric subject-form in order to be successful in competition; c) Earn, on average, lower wages than men and are under-represented in leading positions. In short, contrary to what is currently claimed by post-modern feminist approaches, gender inequality is not a mere narrative susceptible of linguistic deconstruction, but a dynamic structure of domination reproduced by specific social practices informed by the matrix of value-dissociation.Nuno Miguel Cardoso Machado. Researcher at SOCIUS, CSG, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.Luxemburg’s approach of imperialism as a perspective on nature, race and genderThis presentation seeks to develop and systematize Rosa Luxemburg’s approach of imperialism as a tool to understand the relation between capital, the state and its boundaries. These boundaries of capitalist/modern civilization are considered as non-conquered, wild territories or “nature” - including phenomena which are “naturalized”, such as feminine bodies, “uncivilized” races.Over the last decades various Marxist authors have been inspired by Luxemburg to apply her approach to several of these “natural” fields. To name some examples: Maria Mies and Silvia Frederici have developed in the idea of primary accumulation on the economy of the family and female bodies. Jason Moore has used it in the field of nature and climate. Nancy Fraser focussed on it in her debate with Dawson on the question of racial capitalism.Originally, in Accumulation of Capital, Rosa Luxemburg, built upon Marx’s Capital further developing upon the phenomenon of primary accumulation. Rather than approaching primary accumulation as a mere initial phase of the development of capitalism, Rosa Luxemburg’s theory of imperialism assumed that primary accumulation is a continuing process, which happens not only before but also parallel to expanded accumulation. From this perspective, value is continuously extracted both through exploitation and dispossession, the latter occurring in the relation between capital and non-capitalist economies. This presentation argues that Luxemburg’s analysis of the relation between capitalism and external economies, and the role of the state and violence, is applicable to the wider concept of nature as a whole. In his Critique of the Gotha Program, Marx defended that value derived from two components: nature and human labour. Luxemburg shows us how capital dispossesses nature’s value through the colonial enterprise of sacking, enclosure, the metabolic rift, etc.Capital deals with the identities of gender and race in a similar way as it does to nature. In the historical development of bourgeois ideology, race and gender are literally “naturalized”: within the framework of primary accumulation racialized people are pushed towards the fringes of civilization and humanity, robbed of their history and rationality, they are attributed animalistic characteristics. In the same way, women have long time been denied rationality has their essence been restricted to their natural body and have they been pushed towards the “natural” activities of reproduction.This paper will argue that Luxemburg’s perspective on Imperialism provides an advantaged perspective to understand race and gender within the context of capitalist development, the formation of value, and how this influences different forms of social consciousness and potentializes the articulation of social struggles.Jonas Van Vossole, Center for Social Studies, Coimbra University, Portugal‘A Marxist-Feminist Discussion on Female Labour Force Participation and Intra-Household Dynamics in Post-Pandemic India’Unpaid domestic labour performed by women within the household premises, along with the institution of family as a whole, is crucial for the functioning of capitalism. The interplay of patriarchy and capitalism has contributed to the perpetuation of women’s subordinate position in the family and the labour force. Consequently, the pandemic had a more intense impact on women. In this study, we propose possible scenarios regarding post-pandemic labour market decisions of women engaged as formal as well as informal workers in the pre-pandemic situation. Further, we explore the changes in their intra-household dynamics, which include the prevalence of domestic violence, as consequences of these decisions. Marxist feminist theory along with relevant data and newspaper articles have been used to look into how each of these scenarios will influence the process of surplus value extraction.Satyaki Dasgupta, Colorado State University, Colorado, USA &amp; Annesha Mukherjee, Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, IndiaPLEASE NOTE: All events for HM Online are free to register, however we would ask comrades who are able to please consider making a donation, which would help us enormously in covering the costs of putting of this programme of events. Like all left organisations, HM has had a very tough period since the beginning of 2020 and our budgets are very stretched and bank balance is sinking all the time, with very little revenue coming in. If you can make a contribution to keep us afloat, please don’t hesitate! You can donate by selecting the &#x27;donation&#x27; ticket type at registration.Once you have registered, a link to the live session will be emailed to you on the day of the event. For any technical queries please contact historicalmaterialism@soas.ac.ukPlease consider subscribing to the Historical Materialism journal, published by BRILL. www.brill.com/hima

"Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen": A book launch with Nicolas Helm-Grovas

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