New Polity The Gender Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism
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Feb 27, 2024 Discover how capitalism reshaped gender roles by shifting from feudalism, explore the division of tasks between men and women in different communities, and learn about the impact of transitioning on wealth distribution and societal structures. Uncover the evolution of gender dynamics from historical societies to modern times, reflecting on the challenges and changes in traditional gender norms and relationships.
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Money Rewrote Social Value
- Capitalism (the shift to wage-money relations) reorganized social life and made money the primary measure of value.
- This new money-centric economy erased many gendered, place-based meanings that previously grounded male and female roles.
Host's Surprise Over Wage Labor History
- Marc Barnes recounts his surprise learning that wage labor wasn't the historical norm and that wealth wasn't always money.
- He admits it took time to imagine a world where land and goods signified wealth separate from cash.
Gender As Complementary Worlds
- Medieval life gave men and women distinct, authoritative spheres of work and belonging that produced gendered identity.
- Those gendered worlds functioned as complementary 'dances,' not as incomplete halves joining into a whole.