On The MASA

Feminism, Capitalism, and the Cunning of History
By Nancy Fraser

I would like to use the occasion of this essay to take a broad, sweeping look at second-wave feminism (SWF). Not at this or that current of feminist activism, nor at this or that strand of feminist theorizing. Not at this or that geographical slice of the movement, nor at this or that sociological stratum of women. I want, rather, to try to see SWF whole, as an epochal social phenomenon. Looking back at nearly 40 years of feminist activism, I want to venture an assessment of the movement’s overall trajectory and historical significance. In looking back, however, I hope also to help us look forward. By reconstructing the path we have traveled, I hope to shed light on the challenges we face today–in a time of massive economic crisis, social uncertainty, and political realignment.
I am going to tell a story, then, about the broad contours and overall meaning of SWF. Equal parts historical narrative and social-theoretical analysis, my story is plotted around three points in time, each of which places SWF in relation to a specific moment in the history of capitalism. The first point refers to the movement’s beginnings in the context of what I will call “state-organized capitalism.” Here I propose to chart the emergence of SWF from out of the anti-imperialist New Left as a radical challenge to the pervasive androcentrism of state-led capitalist societies in the postwar era. Read more...>