G. A. Cohen's historical materialism: a feminist critique
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- dc.contributor.author Casal, Paula
- dc.date.accessioned 2021-04-26T12:26:03Z
- dc.date.issued 2020
- dc.description.abstract Forty years on, G. A. Cohen’s reconstruction and defence of Marx’s theory of history is still widely, and justifiably, considered the best of its kind, and it remains unsurpassed in clarity, argumentation and textual support. This article presents an under-explored critique of the theory that arises once we recognize that it is meant to apply to the circumstances of women as well as men. The article argues that, when extended to women, the reconstructed theory’s predictions fail to materialize, its characterizations of historical stages fall apart, and its functional explanations appear implausible. In addition, although the theory claims to be able to explain the emergence and diffusion of different ideologies by their effects on productive development, it cannot plausibly explain the presence of sexist ideologies despite their pervasive and profound impact across history. The article concludes by showing that these flaws highlight the many respects in which Cohen’s orthodox version of Marxism is a conservative ideology, and one that egalitarians in particular should view with suspicion. Once we analyse the different components of the theory, the idea of a right-wing Marxism no longer seems as odd as it sounds.
- dc.description.sponsorship Work on this article was supported by the ERC Family Justice Consolidator Grant [Grant Number: 648610].
- dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
- dc.identifier.citation Casal P. G. A. Cohen's historical materialism: a feminist critique. Journal of Political Ideologies. 2020;25(3):316-33. DOI: 10.1080/13569317.2020.1773072
- dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13569317.2020.1773072
- dc.identifier.issn 1356-9317
- dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/47209
- dc.language.iso eng
- dc.publisher Taylor & Francis
- dc.relation.ispartof Journal of Political Ideologies. 2020;25(3):316-33
- dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/648610
- dc.rights © This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Political Ideologies on 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13569317.2020.1773072
- dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
- dc.subject.keyword G. A. Cohen
- dc.subject.keyword Historical materialism
- dc.subject.keyword Feminism
- dc.subject.keyword Sexism
- dc.subject.keyword Functional explanation
- dc.subject.keyword Conservative Marxism
- dc.title G. A. Cohen's historical materialism: a feminist critique
- dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
- dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion