Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) takes as its starting point the recognition that household activ... more Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) takes as its starting point the recognition that household activity in the capitalist mode of production constitutes far more than the production of use values. The activities that take place within households are understood to be part of the entire process of reproduction of society, i.e. social reproduction. The proponents of SRT have stimulated much valuable empirical research on these activities. However, there are major problems in the SRT framework within which these activities are placed. Although presented in the form of a contribution to Marxist theory, SRT contradicts the most basic precepts of this theory. SRT diverges fundamentally from Marxist theory in its use of the term “social reproduction,” and in the related distinctions between “reproductive” and “productive” labor, and between “paid” and “unpaid” labor.
The concept of “caring labor” obscures the process of surplus extraction in the capitalist mode o... more The concept of “caring labor” obscures the process of surplus extraction in the capitalist mode of production. In particular, the government’s provision of services such as preschool child care needs to be understood as having the effect of substituting for the care provided by the household rather than adding to it. The process of substitution is one that involves a decrease in household labor and a corresponding increase in wage labor, in particular that of women. Within the capitalist workplace, the labor time “saved” by the development of a “more efficient” form of child care (as a component of the labor necessary for the reproduction of the working class) is appropriated by the capitalist class. The increasing labor force participation rate of women that results from this process of substitution does not necessarily constitute a decrease in their oppression. JEL Classification: B14, B54, H53
In a socialist mode of production, human activity is no longer constrained by the capitalist need... more In a socialist mode of production, human activity is no longer constrained by the capitalist need to maximize surplus labor, and correspondingly minimize necessary labor. The guiding principle for its organization can therefore be the development and realization of human potential. Some idea of what this could consist of can be derived from observations of the struggle by both wage laborers and household laborers for such goals within the capitalist mode of production, a struggle that is distinct from that necessary to resist the capitalist appropriation of surplus labor. In so doing, it directs attention to the large proportion of the human activity of the working class within capitalist societies that takes the form of household labor, relative to wage labor, and thus its potential significance for the restructuring of human activity in a socialist mode of production.
For the subscription of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter and/or contribution to the Heterodox E... more For the subscription of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter and/or contribution to the Heterodox Economics Directory, write to the editor of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter at
The principal thesis of the article is that the oppression of women is based on the role of women... more The principal thesis of the article is that the oppression of women is based on the role of women in the exploited class as the repro ducers of laborers in class society. The oppression of women is not due to the need for the ruling class to hand on its private property to its biol ogical children, as Engels argued; nor is it due to the division of labor between women and men. Rather, the specific economic form whereby resources (use-values) are provided to women during the period of child- bearing determines the institutional relations between women and men and constitutes part of the economic base of class society. At the same time, the determining factor in this relationship (between women and men) is the specific economic form in which unpaid surplus labor is ex tracted from the direct producers.
Wages in the capitalist mode of production must be sufficient to ensure the resources necessary f... more Wages in the capitalist mode of production must be sufficient to ensure the resources necessary for the production/reproduction of labor power. As such they constitute a supplement to the production by the working class in the form of household production and petty-commodity production. The growth of capitalist production, and the increase in the proportion of total labor time that takes the form of wage labor, can thus be understood as resulting from the reduction over time in the labor allocated by the working-class household to these two other forms of production. These changes must be distinguished from the changing gender/age composition of the components of labor.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1007 S12143 009 9041 1, Dec 23, 2011
Focusing on the "value-added" approach to computing Gross National Product encourages students to... more Focusing on the "value-added" approach to computing Gross National Product encourages students to see their role as a producers, rather than only as consumers. It also offers an alternative approach the distribution of income between labor and capital from that provided by marginal productivity theory.
Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) takes as its starting point the recognition that household activ... more Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) takes as its starting point the recognition that household activity in the capitalist mode of production constitutes far more than the production of use values. The activities that take place within households are understood to be part of the entire process of reproduction of society, i.e. social reproduction. The proponents of SRT have stimulated much valuable empirical research on these activities. However, there are major problems in the SRT framework within which these activities are placed. Although presented in the form of a contribution to Marxist theory, SRT contradicts the most basic precepts of this theory. SRT diverges fundamentally from Marxist theory in its use of the term “social reproduction,” and in the related distinctions between “reproductive” and “productive” labor, and between “paid” and “unpaid” labor.
The concept of “caring labor” obscures the process of surplus extraction in the capitalist mode o... more The concept of “caring labor” obscures the process of surplus extraction in the capitalist mode of production. In particular, the government’s provision of services such as preschool child care needs to be understood as having the effect of substituting for the care provided by the household rather than adding to it. The process of substitution is one that involves a decrease in household labor and a corresponding increase in wage labor, in particular that of women. Within the capitalist workplace, the labor time “saved” by the development of a “more efficient” form of child care (as a component of the labor necessary for the reproduction of the working class) is appropriated by the capitalist class. The increasing labor force participation rate of women that results from this process of substitution does not necessarily constitute a decrease in their oppression. JEL Classification: B14, B54, H53
In a socialist mode of production, human activity is no longer constrained by the capitalist need... more In a socialist mode of production, human activity is no longer constrained by the capitalist need to maximize surplus labor, and correspondingly minimize necessary labor. The guiding principle for its organization can therefore be the development and realization of human potential. Some idea of what this could consist of can be derived from observations of the struggle by both wage laborers and household laborers for such goals within the capitalist mode of production, a struggle that is distinct from that necessary to resist the capitalist appropriation of surplus labor. In so doing, it directs attention to the large proportion of the human activity of the working class within capitalist societies that takes the form of household labor, relative to wage labor, and thus its potential significance for the restructuring of human activity in a socialist mode of production.
For the subscription of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter and/or contribution to the Heterodox E... more For the subscription of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter and/or contribution to the Heterodox Economics Directory, write to the editor of the Heterodox Economics Newsletter at
The principal thesis of the article is that the oppression of women is based on the role of women... more The principal thesis of the article is that the oppression of women is based on the role of women in the exploited class as the repro ducers of laborers in class society. The oppression of women is not due to the need for the ruling class to hand on its private property to its biol ogical children, as Engels argued; nor is it due to the division of labor between women and men. Rather, the specific economic form whereby resources (use-values) are provided to women during the period of child- bearing determines the institutional relations between women and men and constitutes part of the economic base of class society. At the same time, the determining factor in this relationship (between women and men) is the specific economic form in which unpaid surplus labor is ex tracted from the direct producers.
Wages in the capitalist mode of production must be sufficient to ensure the resources necessary f... more Wages in the capitalist mode of production must be sufficient to ensure the resources necessary for the production/reproduction of labor power. As such they constitute a supplement to the production by the working class in the form of household production and petty-commodity production. The growth of capitalist production, and the increase in the proportion of total labor time that takes the form of wage labor, can thus be understood as resulting from the reduction over time in the labor allocated by the working-class household to these two other forms of production. These changes must be distinguished from the changing gender/age composition of the components of labor.
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1007 S12143 009 9041 1, Dec 23, 2011
Focusing on the "value-added" approach to computing Gross National Product encourages students to... more Focusing on the "value-added" approach to computing Gross National Product encourages students to see their role as a producers, rather than only as consumers. It also offers an alternative approach the distribution of income between labor and capital from that provided by marginal productivity theory.
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