Introduction

Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch is a classic work of anti-capitalist feminism. The book examines capitalism’s investment in sexism and racism, showing how the consolidation of the capitalist system depended on the subjugation of women, the enslavement of black and indigenous people, and the exploitation of the colonies. Federici demonstrates that unpaid labor–especially that of women confined to the domestic sphere and of enslaved workers–is a necessary support for waged labor. Under capitalism, this productive capacity is oriented toward profit, the accumulation of capital in the hands of the capitalists, and divisions within the working class are intensified to serve these needs. Under socialism, workers’ creative and productive capacities will be oriented toward meeting the needs of the people and the planet so that all may flourish.