Episode Details

The New Discourses Podcast with James Lindsay, Ep. 223 Should housewives be paid by the state to be housewives? In some sense, it's an issue that's in present-day news, but this isn't the first time a political movement has broached the question. Back in the 1970s, it became a major issue among Marxist-feminists, believe it or not. The Marxist-feminists of the age believed that if the state paid wages for housework, as the movement came to be known, then women would realize the laborious nature and labor-relations relevant to their station within capitalism and thus awaken to resist it. In fact, Silvia Federici launched this movement into prominence with a 1975 pamphlet called "Wages Against Housework" (pdf: https://monoskop.org/images/2/23/Federici_Silvia_Wages_Against_Housework_1975.pdf ) and argues that paying women for housework is the first step in their class consciousness and refusal, thus a necessary piece of the revolutionary movement. In this curious episode of the New Discourses Podcast, host James Lindsay takes you through Federici's pamphlet and brings eye-opening clarity to how Marxist-feminists (and all Wokes) think. Join him to hear it for yourself. Join us for the Preserving Liberty Conference at Sea!: https://ndcruise.com Support New Discourses: https://newdiscourses.com/support Follow New Discourses on other platforms: https://newdiscourses.com/subscribe Follow James Lindsay: https://linktr.ee/conceptualjames © 2026 New Discourses. All rights reserved. #NewDiscourses #JamesLindsay #Wages