Is work the only work we do?
The work we perform for our bosses is the source of profits, but the work we do for pay is not the only kind of work we do. Marxist feminists have argued that there is another type of labor called social reproduction, which is an indispensable type of work that forms the bedrock of societies. Social reproduction refers to the labor that we must perform to care for the needs of ourselves and our loved ones and to maintain households and broader communities. This work is often unpaid, and can include things like cooking, cleaning, raising children, or assisting the elderly. Without social reproduction, we would not be able to sustain connections with each other, we’d have no culture, and even no economy as we know it today.
If this kind of work is so valuable then why is it so poorly paid? Child care workers, for example, are some of the lowest paid workers in the US.
Sadly, reproductive work generally has had a stigma associated with it, especially in comparison to paid work on the market. One of the most important reasons why this happens is because this type of labor is often viewed as women’s “natural” responsibility, so it is taken for granted.
However little value our society may attach to reproductive work, it remains essential. The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw families scrambling to care for children who attended school remotely, or doctors and nurses working overtime to care for the sick and vulnerable, showed us just how valuable this labor really is.
One of the problems with capitalism is that often, bosses try to increase their profits by asking us to work longer or faster. This will leave less time and energy for us to take care of ourselves, our families and communities.
The work that we do to take care of ourselves, including earning a wage, is necessary labor. The surplus labor time we work to make profits for the boss is just that extra, unnecessary work. The less time we spend working for the boss the more time we can devote to taking care of ourselves and each other.
How do capitalism and patriarchy intersect?
The relationship between patriarchy and capitalism is complicated. Often capitalism and patriarchy go hand in hand. Of course, patriarchy also means that capitalists can discriminate against women and simply pay them less, especially if they are doing what is considered “feminine” work like nursing or teaching. But the problem is deeper than that. Patriarchy allows capitalists to pay all workers lower wages since much of the necessary work of reproduction, which usually requires time and money, is done in the household, and especially by women who are not paid for that work. If my boss had to pay me enough to hire someone full-time to take care of my two kids they would have to pay me a lot more. They can get away with paying me less because they assume that my partner will simply take care of them for free on top of all the work she has to do for her job.
But capitalism and patriarchy sometimes conflict. For example, capitalists may want to hire women workers because they can pay them less, but patriarchal norms insist that women not work outside the home.
Remember the point is the economy isn’t simply what’s reported in the business press but all of the work we need to do to take care of ourselves. Reproductive work needs to be centered in any discussion of economics.
“Throughout history this work has been done by women of color and other femmes, starting in the US with enslaved black women and even now many childcare workers are immigrant women of color.”
Is work the only work we do?
The work we perform for our bosses is the source of profits, but the work we do for pay is not the only kind of work we do. Marxist feminists have argued that there is another type of labor called social reproduction, which is an indispensable type of work that forms the bedrock of societies. Social reproduction refers to the labor that we must perform to care for the needs of ourselves and our loved ones and to maintain households and broader communities. This work is often unpaid, and can include things like cooking, cleaning, raising children, or assisting the elderly. Without social reproduction, we would not be able to sustain connections with each other, we’d have no culture, and even no economy as we know it today.
If this kind of work is so valuable then why is it so poorly paid? Child care workers, for example, are some of the lowest paid workers in the US.
Sadly, reproductive work generally has had a stigma associated with it, especially in comparison to paid work on the market. One of the most important reasons why this happens is because this type of labor is often viewed as women’s “natural” responsibility, so it is taken for granted.
However little value our society may attach to reproductive work, it remains essential. The COVID-19 pandemic, which saw families scrambling to care for children who attended school remotely, or doctors and nurses working overtime to care for the sick and vulnerable, showed us just how valuable this labor really is.
One of the problems with capitalism is that often, bosses try to increase their profits by asking us to work longer or faster. This will leave less time and energy for us to take care of ourselves, our families and communities.
The work that we do to take care of ourselves, including earning a wage, is necessary labor. The surplus labor time we work to make profits for the boss is just that extra, unnecessary work. The less time we spend working for the boss the more time we can devote to taking care of ourselves and each other.
How do capitalism and patriarchy intersect?
The relationship between patriarchy and capitalism is complicated. Often capitalism and patriarchy go hand in hand. Of course, patriarchy also means that capitalists can discriminate against women and simply pay them less, especially if they are doing what is considered “feminine” work like nursing or teaching. But the problem is deeper than that. Patriarchy allows capitalists to pay all workers lower wages since much of the necessary work of reproduction, which usually requires time and money, is done in the household, and especially by women who are not paid for that work. If my boss had to pay me enough to hire someone full-time to take care of my two kids they would have to pay me a lot more. They can get away with paying me less because they assume that my partner will simply take care of them for free on top of all the work she has to do for her job.
But capitalism and patriarchy sometimes conflict. For example, capitalists may want to hire women workers because they can pay them less, but patriarchal norms insist that women not work outside the home.
Remember the point is the economy isn’t simply what’s reported in the business press but all of the work we need to do to take care of ourselves. Reproductive work needs to be centered in any discussion of economics.
