Witch hunts as capitalist transition, destroying women's autonomy and the commons.
Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages to the witch-hunts and the rise of mechanical philosophy, Federici investigates the capitalist rationalization of social reproduction. She shows how the battle against the rebel body and the conflict between body and mind are essential conditions for the development of labor power and self-ownership, two central principles of modern social organization.
We will discuss the book, available for purchase or from your library.
Coming up in the series, all Sundays at 11:30am:
August 30: Catch Up Discussion of the Series to Date
September 20: Means of Control by Byron Tau (rescheduled from August 30)
On post-9/11 data collection, and how the hidden alliance of tech and government built the American surveillance state.
November 15: Duty Free Art by Hito Steyerl
December 20: Less is More by Jason Hickel
January 24, 2027: The Path of Most Resistance by Ivan Marovic
