Vol. 54 No. 214 (2024): Feminist Critique of Economics

The feminist debate on the connection between gendering, patriarchy and capitalism has shifted significantly in recent years: Just a decade ago, post-structuralist perspectives and liberal feminisms were still dominant. But it was not only in the context of the coronavirus pandemic that it became clear that the unequal distribution of reproductive and care work in society is essential for social crisis dynamics. Social struggles are coming to a head in many places. It is often argued that one reason for this is the expanded access to female labour power, self-determination and bodies; this then leads to new feminist struggles and strikes in care, education and other areas. On a theoretical level, materialist-feminist theories - such as Social Reproduction Theory - combine a critique of patriarchal structures and gender relations with an analysis of the economic relations they mediate and the structural logic of capital.

PROKLA 214 aims to clarify this understanding of economics and the critique of economics within feminist thinking: What do they achieve, what gaps and what limits do they have? How can postcolonial, ecological and intersectional approaches be made productive for feminist economic critique?