US Capitalism Was Born in the Destruction of the Commons

http://truthout.org/articles/us-capitalism-was-born-in-the-destruction-of-the-commons/
Date Written:  2019-04-03
Publisher:  Truthout
Year Published:  2019
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX23610

Interview with Silvia Federici and Peter Linebaugh about Federici's book Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

But how do we not all, Silvia, fall into the trap of having women do the same old traditional, low-paid, low-respected work?

Federici: You may say that. On the other hand, what is happening is it's not an attempt to replace the state, but it's a way of providing for the most immediate need in a cooperative way, but in the process, also something new is being created. New forms of solidarity are being created. New ways of imagining how reproduction could be organized. Because of the solidarity that is generated, women are also gaining the power to confront the state, to negotiate with a different level of power.

Linebaugh: The commons is not only a place of redistribution and resources, it's also a place of resistance. This is the lesson of Standing Rock, in just thinking of North America. The kitchens in Standing Rock, the care of the children, the care of the elderly, those who provided clothes, those who enchanted the land with their notions of its sacredness and the purity of the water. The Water Protectors were led by women, young women. A new generation.