of capitalism and patriarchy, and their containment by repressive ideologies. Hewlett does not do this, nor does she acknowledge the need for such an examination. Her critique of the recent feminist movement in America turns out to be useful, but naive. Is it possible for women in America today to push for economic and social benefits of the Western European kind within the framework of bankrupt liberalism, without a radical critique of the system that engenders crises in economic and family life? Can we really rectify women’s inequality in the marketplace and guarantee a liv ing wage by providing maternity leave and daycare, when capitalism depends upon cheap labor for profits? Can the state provide for family support, without re-prioritizing spending, particularly at a time of stagnating and declining economic life? Furthermore, what is the significance of reconsidering family life, when in fact, more than half the marriages end up in divorce and women need more than ma te rn ity and daycare rights? Do we need to challenge the traditional division of labor between men and women in the family that maternity and daycare legislation would keep intact? Hewlett bypasses the radical insights of feminism altogether. Radical feminists believe that women’s main objective should be the dismantling of all hierarchical structures, personal and social, institutional and intellectual. From this point of view, Hewlett’s equation of social bene f its—w ith in a system of inequalities engendered by capita lism and pa tr ia rchy—w ith liberation seems absurd. Radical feminists aspire for a future in which women ’s s trugg le for equality eliminates all forms of oppression, exp lo ita tion and domination, in which justice and peace are fully realized, locally and globally. These perspectives should also be considered if one undertakes, as Hewlett does, an assessment of the recent Women’s Movement. I f one believes in a radical res truc tu r ing of reality, in equality based on reciprocity, in peace and global justice, then what is one to do? In other words, how can radical feminist consciousness enter politics and begin to organize for political power necessary for the realization of radical ends? What is the politics of equality, democracy and authenticity that cuts across the barriers of gender, race, class and nations? Can radical feminism generate radical activism and cease being an academic exercise of writers and scholars? We need to struggle with concrete demands for both benefits and empowerment of women for the full realization of their humanity. Once we start talking about a full realization, however, our agenda becomes a gender-free one, because such a struggle must include men, who, under male domination, are also alienated from their humanity. This does not suggest stages in the struggle for liberation, but various dynamics unfolding at the same time, defining and re-defining our struggles differently at different times. This rather fluid conception of the struggle suggests some specific ideas. It is important that we take Sidel’s revelations and Hewlett’s analysis seriously to begin changing the material conditions of the most impoverished sectors of the female population and organize politically to introduce legislation that would benefit most women—maternity leave and daycare, an end to occupational discrimination and a living wage. Secondly, we need to critique the limits of equality, since equality rests on integration into rather than transformation of our reality. After all, what would it mean for women to achieve equality in a reality that is rapidly moving towards nuclear genocide, ecological disasters of enormous magnitude due to the erosion of the material base of life: the soil, the air, the water and the climate? Do we want equality in becoming sick in body, mind and soul? Do we want equality in the male world? Women feel fundamentally alienated from the prevailing form of power and prestige, even when they strive for it, out of necessity or in the name of emancipation. Thirdly, the world as we know it, with its impending life-threatening crises is the responsibility of both men and women. An alliance between men and women seems absolutely essential from the perspective of the future, if we are going to have a future. Those who champion equal rights and social benefits and those who want radical transformation of capitalism and patriarchy often seem to be in opposing camps. Of course, patriarchy divides men and women against each other. Are these contradictions inevitable? Gan we transcend them? We need political and social actions that would gradually pull us together. A good starting point for this might be the national budget. We could begin with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom’s “ The Women’s Budget,” an excellent alternative to the Reagan budget. It assumes that the deteriorating economic and social conditions in the United States, partially caused by an ever growing military budget, pose a greater danger to us than the Soviet Union. It proposes to cut military spending to $146 billion, 50 percent of the 1985 military budget. Since 1980, the military budget has doubled, while non-military programs have been reduced by $90 billion. The American standard of living has continued to decline as we generate huge deficits in trade and spending. The Women’s Budget addresses itself to the specific needs of the majority of people and spends the $146 billion it liberates from the military on jobs ($49.8 billion), housing ($24 billion), health and nutrition ($21.9 billion), education ($18.2 billion), community development ($25.7 billion), women's programs $3.5 billion), and economic assistance to Third World nations ($2.9 billion). It concretely re-prioritizes our needs, delivers benefits, including the specific needs of women, and takes the first steps towards a qualitative transformation of our peris the only industrialized country with no statutory maternity leave. Most countries guarantee women leave, cash benefits and job protection after childbirth. Clinton St. Quarterly— Spring, 1987 19
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