Dec 31 2023 17 mins
Kristen Ghodsee reads the final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "The Labor of Women in the Evolution of the Economy" to explore Kollontai's arguments for the socialization of the family and the socialist uses of the maternal instinct. Although Kollontai is openly pro-natalist, and emphasizes that motherhood is a social obligation to help produce new workers for the world's first workers state, she is making these arguments to suspicious men in the Bolshevik government who do not want to expend resources to socialize the domestic labor that Russian women historically did for free.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Kristen Ghodsee on Dan Snow's History Hit podcast talking about "Pythagoras' Utopia"
- Also, check out a free pdf of the conclusion of Everyday Utopia: "The Star Trek Game Plan" (Click the green button at the top of the page)
- Kristen Ghodsee's Year in Reading at The Millions
- "Marxism and Mistletoe," book recommendations for the lefties in your life at Lithub.com
Also, wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
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