In her book "Caliban and the Witch", Silvia Federici explores the historical development of capitalism and its impact on women. She argues that capitalism capitalized on the persecution and demonization of women, particularly those who were accused of being witches, to establish its power and dominance. Federici argues that the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries served as a way to discipline and control women. Women who were perceived as deviant, independent, or in any way challenging the existing patriarchal order were accused of witchcraft and subjected to torture and execution. This allowed capitalism to take root by dismantling communal structures and social relationships, replacing them with individualized labor contracts that served to consolidate power and exploit the labor force. The witch hunts were not only a means of maintaining patriarchal control, but also a way to extract wealth from women.
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9781570270598
In seeking to uncover a hidden history that needs to be made visible Federici foregrounds the secret of capitalism, women s unpaid reproductive work, slavery and colonisation p. In this way, moral and physical violence against women is shown to constitute not a separate and distinct problem, but an organic part of the progress of capital.
The witch hunts were not only a means of maintaining patriarchal control, but also a way to extract wealth from women. Federici argues that the witch hunts targeted women who owned property or had access to resources, allowing these assets to be seized and redistributed to the emerging capitalist class. By demonizing women and branding them as witches, their labor, knowledge, and resources were effectively stolen, creating a new class of workers who were desperate and dispossessed.
Silvia Federici, Caliban and the Witch
In Caliban and the Witch , Silvia Federici tells the sweeping story of how the proletariat came to exist as an exploited and exploitable class. For Federici, the central figure in the transition from feudalism to capitalism is women’s bodies. Women, she argues, were subjugated in order to reproduce a workforce that could be treated like machines. A similar process occurred with divisions along racial lines, for Federici argues that “capitalism, as a social-economic system, is necessarily committed to racism and sexism.” (17) In other words, capitalism rose by dividing those at the bottom along lines of gender and race.
Federici begins with a discussion of medieval protests against feudalism and the rise of popular heresy. Both, Federici argues, divided society along class lines, because both were expressions of peasant and urban labor unrest at the social hierarchy, which was thrown into stark relief when the Black Death created a massive labor shortage. But the counter-revolution exploited divisions within workers by focusing antagonism on women rather than class. Rape was decriminalized and municipal brothels were opened, while the centralizing state exerted greater power over the bodies of women.
This was only the first step toward dividing workers against each other, Federici argues. The process continued with new hierarchies built upon gender, race, and age. Capitalism, then, “planted into the body of the proletariat deep divisions that have served to intensify and conceal exploitation.” (64)
Federici’s most in-depth examination of the nexus between women and the rise of capitalism comes in chapter four, which she devotes to the European witch hunts. For Federici, the witch-hunt was a central event in the development of a capitalist society. It also formed the modern proletariat. The hunt served as a campaign of terror that divided women and men, by constructing a new patriarchal order that placed women’s bodies, their labor, and their reproductive power under control of the state, effectively transforming them into economic resources. The witch hunts were not about punishing specific transgressions, Federici claims, but rather they created a mechanism to intimidate women and eliminate non-conformist female behavior.
Thus, the persecution of witches was a form of class warfare. Take, for example, the obsession among witch hunters that witches committed acts of infanticide or harmed fertility. During an era of population decline, witches were thus targeting the economic stability and wealth of the nation. Federici contends that the witch hunt served the needs of European elites by eliminating a perceived threat to their political and economic power.
On the whole, Caliban and the Witch is a fascinating and important book. It demonstrates historically the author’s contention about the link between the devaluation of women and the expropriation of labor. In this way, moral and physical violence against women is shown to constitute not a separate and distinct problem, but an organic part of the progress of capital. In doing so, Federici links the feminist struggle to the struggle against capital––an intersection that is in many respects controversial on the left. She does so, in essence, by demonstrating that primitive accumulation, the process inherent to the rise of capitalism, was carried out in a way that intimately involved the role of women in society. In other words, the expropriation of female power and the expropriation of the independent means of subsistence that enabled the peasant class to resist proletarianization went hand in hand.
Most strikingly, the author demonstrates this through an analysis of the witch trials, a reading which cuts deeply in several directions. On the one hand, Federici shows that far from being an expression of the last gasps of medieval superstition, the witch hunts were very much a modern event which served to pave the way for the rationalization of life that was then underway and on which capital depended. On the other hand, she uses this discussion to successfully attack the French historian and social theorist Michel Foucault, whose History of Sexuality opposed the so-called “repression” thesis which held that after the decline of the Renaissance until the 20th century, sexuality and sexual expression were silenced and that the flowering of discourse on this subject in the 20th century represents a form of liberation. Foucault argued that, on the contrary, this period was characterized too by a flowering of discourse; the modern era was not so much concerned with silencing sexuality as “making it speak” in new ways in the service of now ways of exercising and diffusing power relations. Federici points out that this thesis is plausible only to the extent that we ignore the witch trials; these persecutions were very much a matter of sexual, economic, and political repression.
There are some features of this book which ought to be further elaborated. Given that the force of Federici’s argument rests on the relation between the oppression of women and primitive accumulation, it would be interesting to hear Federici’s response to writers like Rosa Luxemburg, who argued––contra Marx––that primitive accumulation is not a historically isolable event, but the very foundation of all capitalist development. Federici addresses this to some degree in the final chapter, where she discusses the rise of witch-hunts in Africa and India and suggests that these signal a new cycle in the process of expropriation. However, she does not go nearly far enough in this direction.
It would also be interesting to consider the ramifications of Federici’s analysis for the United States. What, for example, can we make of the periodic satanism hysterias that still crop up from time to time here? What do we make of the manner in which magical practices constitute, among certain rural white populations (e.g. snake handling), an important element of religious experience? What about “speaking in tongues” and “faith healing?” What about “new age” and alternative medicines? Are all of these now benign sideshows in a world dominated by capitalist rationalization, or something else? From one perspective, they appear regressive and seem to stand in for real, concrete, resistance to the system. Yet, Federici seems to indicate that magical practices have historically constituted a meaningful site of resistance. Does this remain true today? If so, how?
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Hayyim Rothman has a PhD in Philosophy from Boston College and recently received a Fulbright postdoctoral research fellowship to work at Bar Ilan University in Israel.
In high school, like many young women, my friends and I developed a fascination with witches. Years before we knew what feminism was, a sense of foreboding had developed among us, about our place in the world and our power relative to adults and to our male peers. As ambitious teen girls wary of how we were perceived in the adult world, we sought solace in the idea that we could harness a secret and subversive power to change things. After school we concocted potions, conducted rituals and created secret languages. For a time we believed in magic.
Federici also explores the role of the body in capitalism and the ways in which women's reproductive labor was harnessed for profit. She argues that women's bodies were controlled and commodified, with their reproductive capacities being exploited to produce a cheap and disposable labor force. This control over reproduction served to cement the power of capitalism by ensuring a steady supply of workers and reinforcing patriarchal control over women's bodies. Overall, Federici's "Caliban and the Witch" offers a unique perspective on the historical development of capitalism and its impact on women. By analyzing the witch hunts and the persecution of women, she sheds light on the ways in which capitalism has exploited and marginalized women throughout history. Through her analysis, Federici offers a powerful critique of capitalism and a call to resist its oppressive structures..
Reviews for "The Role of Fear and Misogyny: Reflections on Federici's Caliban and the Witch"
1. Jane - 2/5 stars - I was really looking forward to reading "Federici Caliban and the Witch" as I had heard great things about it. However, I was quite disappointed with the book. While it does provide an interesting perspective on the witch trials and capitalism, I found the writing style to be overly academic and inaccessible. The author goes into too much detail without providing enough context or explanations, which made it difficult for me to fully grasp the arguments being made. Additionally, I felt that the book lacked a clear structure and was disjointed at times. Overall, I didn't enjoy this read as much as I had hoped to.
2. Michael - 2/5 stars - "Federici Caliban and the Witch" is not for everyone. I personally found it to be a tedious and laborious read. The author presents a Marxist feminist analysis of the witch trials, but I felt that the book was overly focused on theoretical concepts and lacked engaging storytelling. While it is interesting to explore the relationship between capitalism and the persecution of women, I felt that the book failed to present a cohesive and convincing argument. Moreover, the writing style was often dense and difficult to follow. I would only recommend this book to those with a strong academic interest in the subject matter.
3. Sarah - 3/5 stars - I had high expectations for "Federici Caliban and the Witch," but it fell short for me. While the book does offer an intriguing and critical analysis of capitalism through the lens of the witch trials, I found the writing style to be extremely dense and inaccessible. The author often uses jargon and assumes prior knowledge, which made it a challenging read. Additionally, I felt that the book lacked a clear structure and could have benefited from more organization. However, I do appreciate the important ideas presented in the book and believe it offers a unique perspective on history and gender oppression.
4. David - 2/5 stars - "Federici Caliban and the Witch" was not what I expected. While the premise of exploring the relationship between capitalism and the witch trials intrigued me, I found the book to be rather dry and difficult to engage with. The writing style is dense and heavily academic, which made it a struggle to follow along at times. Additionally, I felt that the book lacked a coherent narrative and failed to hold my attention. I appreciate the research and analysis that went into this work, but it simply did not resonate with me.