Abstract

Global events, from economic crisis to social unrest and militarization, disproportionately affect women. Yet around the world it is also women who are leading the struggle against oppression and exploitation. In light of renewed interest in Marxist theory among many women activists and academics, Marxism and Feminism presents a contemporary and accessible Marxist–feminist analysis on a host of issues. It reassesses previous debates and seeks to answer pressing questions of how we should understand the relationship between patriarchy and capitalism, and how we can envision a feminist project which emancipates both women and society.

With contributions from both renowned scholars and new voices, Marxism and Feminism is set to become the foundational text for modern Marxist-feminist thought.

'Marxism and Feminism is a serious, nuanced collection that covers a great deal of ground in a clear and concise way. The essays here represent a profoundly warm, human way of thinking through some of the toughest political problems of our age. It will be of great use to anyone thinking seriously about the relationship between Marx and feminism, not to mention gender, race, class, intersectionality, patriarchy, work and many other key topics today.'
Nina Power, author of One Dimensional Woman

'The relationship between Marxists and Feminists has always been problematic. But in these times of an ongoing crises of capitalism, when the whole world is looking for alternatives to the present destructive World System, Shahrzad Mojab's Marxism and Feminism is especially necessary today. I hope that many women and men read it.'
Maria Mies, author of Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale

'Marxism and feminism are back! This book marks a refreshing return to basics after years spent in the wilderness of identity politics and the 'cultural turn'. Offering a rich synthesis of the key concepts in both schools of thought, the book provides a valuable resource for rethinking Marxism, feminism, a renewed project for human emancipation and, yes… revolution.'
Radha D'Souza, University of Westminster

'Marxism and Feminism is an outstanding contribution to the shared project of scholar-activists across diverse disciplines and movements. The collection is both the result of, and a significant contribution to, a (re)emerging conversation - one that attends to, as Shahrzad Mojab succinctly notes, "two major emancipatory projects." The keywords approach is inspired, providing breadth and depth in a single, accessible, and highly engaged volume.'
Abigail B. Bakan, University of Toronto

'Reading this book made me aware of how much such a book is needed to awaken a dialogue between Marxism and feminism. I didn't agree with all that I read, but that's exactly what a book with this framework should do to awaken us.'
Dorothy Smith, University of Victoria

‘Reading this book, I was gripped by a feeling that it will mark a politically-necessary moment in the history of Women’s and Gender Studies as well as educational theories encompassing class, race, disability, sexuality and all axes of identity formation … this book is a pedagogy – a form of resistance.’
Sona Kazemi, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies

'An important addition to the body of radical analysis that left feminists can use to educate ourselves about old and new theoretical, political and methodological debates on the left. It also is a signal that such debates are receiving new energy in the 21st century by new generations of left feminist intellectuals and activists dissatisfied with the academic compromises that institutionalized feminism has made, and the failure to incorporate feminist insights into Marxist-inspired theory and politics.'
Against the Current

'Discussions of democracy, finance capitalism, nationalism and imperialism release feminist theory from the confines of the so-called woman question by theorising the global social moment … held together by a commitment to dialectical inquiry and revolutionary feminist praxis.'
Historical Materialism