Written in by Leopoldina Fortunati, this rigorous account of reproductive labor under capitalism has long been underappreciated within. The Arcane of Reproduction Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital by Leopoldina Fortunati. Reviewed by Kersplebedeb. This is important. Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital [Leopoldina Fortunati] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. One of Italy’s.
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Quotes from The Arcane of Reproduction. In this reading, Fortunati explores the inner workings of capitalism through social relationships. The question remains, why is this work reproductive of the capitalist system gendered, or in other words, why is this the feminist class struggle and also the communist struggle. I am thinking here of the houseworker who is angered by the exploitation their spouse experiences on the job, or the feelings of anger and distress that men can feel when they hear how their girlfriend, wife, mother or daughters are subjected to violence and harassment every day, or parents who are distressed and angered when they hear of how their children are dehumanized and brutalized at school.
Sam Whitehill rated it really liked it Mar 12, The proof of this lies in his assumption that the history of white male adult labor-power is synonymous with the the liberation of the ofrtunati working class, or, if not synonymous, at least representative of the main trend. Going beyond any historical judgement of what capitalism has represented, its continuing existence today means barbarism, not only because it represents the theft of non-waged work from women–who are obliged to live in isolation, semi-dependent fortunatk men–but also because it is the theft of non-waged work from the man.
2.1 The Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital by Leopoldina Fortunati
While i know that there is an element of truth, a factual insight of sorts, in this way of seeing arcxne [ 1 reprlduction, it begs as many questions as it answers, for instance there is no discussion of how this labour sex work is different than other activities that make people feel good or relieve their stress i.
Therefore, the demand for wages is a demand which strikes at the heart of capitalist exploitation. So the concept production uses the instrumental definition of technology whereas the term reproduction more so aligns with the anthropological definition. Yet even assuming this is so, that Fortunati would agree with this extention of her argument, i still see problems on the horizon….
And the question she is grappling with — the role played by unwaged emotional nurturing and physical care in maintaining the economy — is vitally important. Only from a capitalist viewpoint being productive is a moral virtue, if not a moral imperative. Whether capitalism could survive the absolute dehumanization of its subjects is of course another question… one that is reeproduction to us, for we know that we could not survive it.
Lauren rated it really liked it Aug 07, How does a sum of commodities, of objectified lleopoldina, turn into the use-value labor-power?
These leeopoldina, expertly addressed throughout The Arcane of Reproductionare at the heart of Marxist-Feminist interpretations. An interesting example of the difference between these two things is reproduction in the sense of childbirth.
Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital
The production foftunati workers is by means of the production of commodities. In Marxspeak, whether it is a horrible or ok relationship, there is usually no change in the amount of surplus value being expropriated. Chonti Valenzuela sauder rated it it was amazing Mar 03, The question must be asked at this point why i would stock this book — after all, i am not only reviewing it, i also distribute it.
This money does not function as capital for him, although in the first two cases it also buys the work done as a commodity, it only functions as money, as a means of circulation. This site uses cookies. A basic example not explicitly used but is expressed through this essay is the ideological factors that support what a normal life is.
Lobna rated it it was amazing Dec 17, Powered by Esplanade Theme and WordPress. She produces it as part of the housework process in order to produce a commodity, labor-power. You are commenting using your WordPress.
Of course these feelings are often mixed with patriarchal feelings of family loyalty, control and posessiveness[ 6 ], but inconsistently, and they often retain and realize the potential to develop in a liberatory direction. It is clear from this passage that the consumption of the use-value of labor-power, that is, its capacity to transform the value of dead labor through living labor into a greater quantity of value, takes place in the process of production.
This exchange and relation is required because the female houseworker’s reproduction cannot only consist of the use-values into which the wage can be transformed; it must also include the consumption of use-values which only the husband can and must produce.
For that reason alone, this book has some value. Life is too short to waste time on bad writing. It did offer a very thorough analysis of reproductive labor, however. In addition, while addressing that which is not directly mediated by the market, she relegates reproductive labor to a sphere outside of the capitalist market. There is, on the other hand, an understanding of provincialization as a stretching that underlines the need for an extension and displacement of the borders ….
These new concepts of indirectly waged work and the houseworker open up the sphere of housework and prostitution as a capitalist sphere within the circuit of reproduction.
It is not surprising that just as these struggles developed, becoming important battlefields for the feminist movement, other struggles were also taking place: Or even more clearly: This togetherness can be a communal household, an extended family, a lesbians-only homestead, a celibate religious community — while we may have problems with some aspects of these experiments, we can not fault people for overwhelmingly choosing to try and leave this society collectively.
This is important, and yet…. Some examples of this: Thus “love” enters the discourse, and the relation can be expressed in other non-money terms.
Arcane of Reproduction: Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital by Leopoldina Fortunati
It has many specific characteristics that make the production of human reproducfion different than the production of television sets, but both are forms of work determined by capitalism, in which indirectly or directly the capitalist class exploits the worker.
There is a need to limit the number of workers in this structure of society.
The realization that a few pieces of the puzzle were missing all along, are still missing. We might also note that in the above quotation Fortunati explicitly assures us that this reproductive moment within the circuit does not expand capital, i.