kelley on katie roiphe

Brett Knowlton brettk at unica-usa.com
Wed Jun 16 10:40:11 PDT 1999



>>So here are my questions. Is the term feminism well defined? It seems
>>like many feminists have conflicting viewpoints. Are there simply many
>>different flavors, all sharing some common beliefs? If so, what is the
>>stuff everyone agrees on? Or is a comment like 'Feminism stands for X'
>>always misleading because feminism can't be so easily tied down?
>
>
>errr. well i got the impression that you were a bit of a marxist, brett.

Guilty as charged.


>in any event, can we pin marxism down?

Good point. But we can pin down marxism, al least to a certain extent. For example, all marxists believe capitalism exploits the labor of the proletariat. All marxists want to abolish the institution of private property. Granted this still allows for big differences, but at least the label has some specific meaning and can serve as a starting point for discussing the various branches which have developed.

I've done a lot of reading on the subject of socialism, but not nearly as much on the subject of feminism. If someone is trying to understand marxism after reading some Lenin and some Bakunin, they will probably have a lot of questions. Both of them were marxists, but they had some serious differences. Lenin wanted a socialist state, Bakunin didn't want a state at all.

I find myself in the same position when it comes to feminist thought. I've read a few things, but I find it difficult to put it in perspective in terms of the overall movement.


>i'll answer more later as i'm busy right now

I look forward to your response.

Brett



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