description The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community Overview
The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community is a 1972 feminist Marxist pamphlet associated with Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Selma James. It argues that unpaid domestic work, including housework and the reproduction of labor power, is integral to capitalist production rather than separate from it. The text became influential in autonomist feminism and in the international Wages for Housework movement, particularly among readers studying gender, labor, and social reproduction.
help The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community FAQ
Who wrote The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community?
The 1972 feminist Marxist pamphlet is associated with Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Selma James. It became an important text in debates about domestic labor and capitalist production.
What is the main argument of the pamphlet?
It argues that unpaid domestic work is central to the functioning of capitalism. Housework and the reproduction of labor power help sustain the paid workforce even when that work is not directly waged.
What does reproduction of labor power mean in this pamphlet?
It refers to the work needed to maintain and renew workers, including cooking, cleaning, care, and raising the next generation. Dalla Costa and James argue that this labor supports capitalist production.
Why is The Power of Women and the Subversion of the Community linked to domestic labor debates?
The pamphlet treats housework as productive social labor rather than as a private matter outside the economy. Published in 1972, it helped frame domestic work as a political issue connected to wages, class, and women's liberation.
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