Feminism and Marxism (and more) in Contemporary Radical Left Politics

An Unhappy Marriage or a Friendship with Benefits?

Abstract

In this article I outline some of the debates that historically manifest in that (frequently contentious) space where feminism and socialism, or more specifically feminism and Marxism, inform, influence, and change the co-ordinates of one another. I outline what was identified by feminists in the 1970s and 1980s as the domination of feminism by Marxism, and contemplate the possibility that there has subsequently been something of a separation of these two (apparently cohesive?) ‘bodies’ of thought—not least as the credibility of Marxism, and of the Left more generally, appeared to diminish in an era of emerging neoliberal hegemony. I tentatively suggest Jacques Rancière’s notions of dissensus and of political subjectivity as guides to support a reinvigoration of the contemporary communist-leaning Left and feminism (in the context of an ongoing state of colonisation), in relationship with—and through—one another.