| 1. Title: Women in development: liberalism, Marxism and Marxist-feminism. Author: Bandarage A Source: Enzymologia. 1984 Oct;15(4):495-515. Abstract: This article contrasts liberal, Marxist, and Marxist-feminist positions on economic modernization and Third World women. Liberal feminism, rooted in a belief in the inherent viability of the capitalist system, asserts that underdevelopment in the Third World is caused by traditional values and social structures. It is argued that the basis for development lies in the diffusion of values, capital, technology, and political institutions from the West. The goal is to accomplish the fuller integration of women into the formal sectors of Third World economies. The limitation of this approach, represented by the Women in Development school, is its insistence that women can be integrated into more fulfilling forms of employment within the hierarchical political-economic and ideological structures of the capitalist world system. Unlike the liberal perspective, the Marxist perspective argues that poverty is a structural feature of a capitalist system that prioritizes profits over human needs. Women's oppression is regarded as inextricably linked with class oppression, precluding the liberation of women within the prevailing capitalist world system. The Marxist perspective helps us to understand the interaction of sexual oppression with class oppression and imperialism. However, it is less useful in understanding issues such as the cultural and psychological dimensions of sexual stratification or the changing relations between men and women under capitalism. A synthesis between Marxism, which focuses on the effects of the economy on women, and radical feminism, which is concerned with the structure of male domination, enables a dialectical analysis of patriarchy and capitalism. Marxist-feminism has the potential to analyze the realities of the feminization of poverty, female-headed households, changing sexual mores, and the presence of the patriarchal state. To be of value, Marxist-feminist analysis must take into account the experiences of poor Third World women rather than apply the white middle class experience globally. The issue of women in development must become central to feminis theory if feminism is to transcend its middle class bias. Language: English Keywords: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES | SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | DEVELOPMENT PLANNING | MACROECONOMIC FACTORS | WOMEN'S STATUS | SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS | SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS | MARXISM | POPULATION THEORY | POPULATION | WOMEN | Economic Factors | Socialism | Political Systems | Demography | Social Sciences | Demographic Factors Document Number: 027966 |
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