Gender Relations in Late-Stage Capitalism

This is a WIP article. I had to get this out ASAP, so it’s mostly random thoughts thrown together

Over the years, the bourgeoisie has found numerous ways to keep their power. In modern times, this is mainly by preventing the proletariat from gaining class consciousness. A unified proletariat is a serious danger to the bourgeoisie.

The capitalist establishment uses various techniques to keep the workers divided: in the not so distant past, and continuing today, this was accomplished through racism. If you hate someone just because their skin is a different color, you're less likely to unite with them to threated the establishment. You also feel superior to them, which makes you support the establishment that exploits them.

Granually, racism has been replaced by identity politics, mostly through the so-called "gender wars."

Liberal Feminism

Mainly as a reaction to the equalization of women through class struggle in the Soviet Union, the imperial core was also forced to re-evaluate the role of their women. Even though the capitalist establishment has allowed women some enhanced privileges, it was still nothing compared to what was happening in the Soviet Union, where women were already allowed to vote in 1917. Women from the imperial core would look at the Soviet Union and start asking uncomfortable questions, such as "Is capitalism really superior, if socialism can offer us true equality?"

Such questions led to what we call "liberal feminism." In Liberal Feminism, the goal is not to equalize women, but to make them a core part of the proletariat, as well as placing women into positions of power within the capitalist class system, when convenient.

And it worked beautifully. By allowing total participation of women within capitalism's class system, the bourgeoisie expanded their available labor twofold overnight. Now, what the wage of one man could buy, gradually started to require two incomes.

Thus, under capitalism, true gender equality cannot be attained; this is not an argument against women's suffrage, but against the capitalist system. True liberation of the whole proletariat can happen only if capitalism is overthrown and socialism is established.

Disfranchisement of Men

Through generations, men were forced to take up the roles of providers. With the absorption of women into the proletariat, this goal became much harder to attain. Moreover, as women were getting "liberated," men were still forced into their traditional gender roles, a phenomenon which continues to this day.

With each passing year, the traditional role of men becomes harder and harder to attain. Men are doing everything they were told to do, and failing, which leads to understandable frustration and sense of purpose, which creates a negative feedback loop.

This problem compounds with the phenomenon of the alienation of labor under capitalism, which disproportionately affects men, as for most, work is the only purpose in life they have as more and more of their support structures get taken away.

At the same time, women keep getting seemingly empowered at the expense of men. This frustration is ripe for abuse by the bourgeoisie.

Gender War

Now, on one side, there are frustrated men, radicalized by their loss of purpose. On the other side, there are women who feel like they still haven't been empowered enough, because the top 0.001% of society are predominantly men.

The bourgeoisie further stokes this conflict. Remember, if the proletariat is fighting among itself, it cannot unify to threaten the bourgeoisie.

The establishment took the frustration men felt, and told women, "Look, they are so angry at you! They hate you! These angry men are keeping you down! Go get them!"

This conflict is exacerbated by continuing to force men into traditional gender roles, which increases their frustration, which, in turn, fuels the hatred towards men in women. As capitalism further develops, the alienation of labor grows more severe, which only radicalizes men further, as their role as providers keeps slipping further and further, to the point it became impossible.