“Whether we like it or not, capitalism commodifies almost every aspect of our private lives..,”
For October, I decided to dive into the world of nonfiction and my first read was about ……drumroll…. socialism.
Prior to reading this, I only knew the dictionary meaning of the -isms without really knowing what each of them entailed so when I started this book, I was googling every sentence and bookmarking a lot of questions but dare I say, I am past my beginner and now in my novice stage.
SYNOPSIS:
Ghodsee sums the entire book up in the first chapter.
“Unregulated capitalism is bad for women, and if we adopt some ideas from socialism, women will have better lives.”
She starts each chapter with a portrait of a notable socialist woman, and a personal story from her life.
Throughout the book, she delves into domestic work, motherhood, gender roles & women in leadership positions, sex, relationships, voting.
There is Lisa who quit her job to become a stay at home mum, rendering her economically dependent on her husband for her basic livelihood.
Jake who decided to hire a woman for a strategic position in his firm, gave her a paid sabbatical for additional training, groomed her for promotion, then she became pregnant. She comes back after the birth of her baby, less efficient, then quits one day, forcing Jake to swear off hiring women.
The boys in her High school debate club not letting her represent the US, UK or France because it was less likely for one of the Western countries to have a woman as a security council representative.
Ken who used his wealth to attract women (finally his wife) but failed to realise until late, that he was in a transactional relationship- sex for her needs. She finally divorces him after earning her green card, and he realises that egalitarian relationships as opposed to ones with power imbalances were more honest. Too late.
A chapter on the sexual economic theory which pretty much fascinated me.
Ghodsee’s argument throughout the book was that under state socialist countries, because the state was the primary employer, it guaranteed man and woman full employment as a right and duty of citizenship, so women had economic autonomy. As opposed to capitalism which thrives off free labour of women, a free market that discriminates against women, a labour market that penalises women for their biology and has more men in leadership positions, and the sexual economic theory which explained sex as a commodity in the capitalist West.
SOCIALISM, FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND BETTER SEX.
What is the correlation?
Ghodsee blames capitalism for discriminating against women and being the cause of financial imbalance between men and women. If women are more financially independent, they have more control over their life choices.
Choices like who they choose to be romantically involved with are no longer based on a need to meet their basic needs.
Sex becomes less transactional and more for love or mutual pleasure.
“In other words, in societies with high levels of gender equality, with strong protections for reproductive freedom, and with large social safety nets, women almost never have to worry about the price their sex will fetch on the open market.”
RATING:
I picked this book up because I had just finished reading A Court of Thorn and Roses DESPERATELY needed something…anything that just wasn’t YA again and I ended up loving it!
I think anyone planning on reading this book should know Ghodsee wasn’t really arguing for socialism but the implementation of some of these socialist policies; quotas, job-protected paid parental leaves, universal health care, subsidised child care, expansion of public services etc.
Also, it’s centred around capitalism in the States.
My experience reading the last chapter of this book felt like a voice in the distance you can only hear. You know it’s there but it’s too far you don’t know if you’re ever going to reach, so you just keep…going…and pushing forward, because the alternative is stagnation.
I guess with Kamala being the first female, first Black vice president of the United States, there is hope for the future.
