THE RISE AND DECLINE OF PATRIARCHAL SYSTEMS

A Marxist-influenced critique of gender inequalities, especially those involving the “economic value of the time parents devote to children.”

Feminist economist and MacArthur fellow Folbre tackles a question that has gained fresh urgency as parents spend more time at home with children during the pandemic: How can societies fairly value the care people give to their families, which women disproportionately provide? Labor economists tend to assume that women care for family members altruistically and that their unsalaried work “represents a price freely paid for the intrinsic satisfaction it affords.” That view ignores the political and other forces, including gender norms, that affect their choices. Drawing on and challenging aspects of neoliberal and Marxist economic traditions—and showing how patriarchal, capitalist, and other systems interact—Folbre explores how gender gaps have evolved worldwide from the age of hunter-gatherers to the 21st century, when people tend “to view commitments to the care of others as optional lifestyle decisions rather than as socially necessary.” She effectively demonstrates how the undervaluation of unpaid care work has profound consequences for U.S. families and the economy as a whole: A low estimate of the cost of replacing “nonmarket” services, including child care, is 44% of the GDP. The author also describes how other countries have tried to ensure that people receive the family care they need: In Singapore, elderly parents can sue their children if they don’t give them a “specific monthly allowance.” Staying largely within arid theoretical realms, Folbre offers no Freakonomics-style anecdotes or similar material to enliven the hard data and dry intersectional analyses. Books about economics don’t have to be exciting, but this one is soporific. The text may be a feast for feminist- and Marxist-theory wonks, but it has little to offer general readers seeking lively writing or tips on matters such as gender-neutral household-chore allocation or what to a pay a grandparent looking after a child during the pandemic.

A sweeping but dull overview of how and why we undervalue women’s unpaid caregiving.