Susan Ferguson – författare

Feminism is once again on the political agenda. Across the world women are taking to the streets to protest unfair working conditions, abortion laws, and sexual violence. They are demanding decent wages, better schools and free childcare. But why do some feminists choose to fight for more women CEOs, while others fight for a world without CEOs?To understand these divergent approaches, Susan Ferguson looks at the ideas that have inspired women to protest, exploring the ways in which feminists have placed work at the centre of their struggle for emancipation. Two distinct trajectories emerge: 'equality feminism' and 'social reproduction feminism'. Ferguson argues that socialists have too often embraced the 'liberal' tendencies of equality feminism, while neglecting the insights of social reproduction feminism.Engaging with feminist anti-work critiques, Ferguson proposes that women's emancipation depends upon a radical reimagining of all labour and advocates for a renewed social reproduction framework as a powerful basis for an inclusive feminist politics.

As we grow up, we move from a life full of play to one dictated by labour. But what is the nature of play under capitalism? Here, Susan Ferguson argues that play is not just 'kids being kids'—it is a vital part of how our world and our lives are made and remade. While our society treats play as a cornerstone of childhood, the system demands workers, not dreamers.Child’s Play traces how kindergartens and playgrounds have served as the front lines of this tension since the late nineteenth century, channelling the intimacy of play towards narrow, productive, instrumental ends. Yet, the absence of these very spaces in many racialised and colonised communities highlights a stark reality: certain children are considered unworthy of developing beyond childhood.Ferguson shows how children and what we learn from their imagination may hold the key to overturning capitalism.

Feminism is once again on the political agenda. Across the world women are taking to the streets to protest unfair working conditions, abortion laws, and sexual violence. They are demanding decent wages, better schools and free childcare. But why do some feminists choose to fight for more women CEOs, while others fight for a world without CEOs?To understand these divergent approaches, Susan Ferguson looks at the ideas that have inspired women to protest, exploring the ways in which feminists have placed work at the centre of their struggle for emancipation. Two distinct trajectories emerge: 'equality feminism' and 'social reproduction feminism'. Ferguson argues that socialists have too often embraced the 'liberal' tendencies of equality feminism, while neglecting the insights of social reproduction feminism.Engaging with feminist anti-work critiques, Ferguson proposes that women's emancipation depends upon a radical reimagining of all labour and advocates for a renewed social reproduction framework as a powerful basis for an inclusive feminist politics.

Social reproduction theory is a big idea. It explores how the daily renewal of human life, and therefore human labour, is essential to capitalism. Here, leading feminists come together to apply the theory to one of its most extreme settings - that of Palestine.Israel’s settler colonialism is premised on the eradication of Palestinian lives, undermining Palestinian social reproduction at every turn. This project, which ramped up after October 7th, does have a logic, and by examining the concrete, historically specific details, the authors begin to reshape and refine the theory of Social Reproduction, shedding light on why Israel’s assault is so brutal.Chapters look at Israel’s mass murder of a generation of Palestinians in Gaza, the effects of ecocide, the relationship between land dispossession and class, Israel’s selective pronatalism, scholasticide and other topics. By understanding this deadly logic, we can look deeper into the heart of the evils of capitalism, and stand in solidarity with Palestine.

These essays reveal the intensity of the battle between the exterminationist death-making force of Israeli colonialism and the Palestinian determination to produce and sustain a flourishing and liberated collective life Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Palestinian Historian and Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair in Arab Studies, Rice UniversitySocial reproduction theory explores how the daily renewal of human life, and therefore human labour, is essential to capitalism. Here, for the first time, the theory is applied to the setting of Palestine.Israels settler colonialism is premised on the destruction of Palestinian lives, undermining Palestinian social reproduction at every turn. That project, which ramped up after October 7, has a terrible logic. By examining the concrete, historically specific details, the authors begin to reshape and refine the theory of Social Reproduction, shedding light on why Israels assault is so brutal.Chapters look at Israels mass murder of a generation of Palestinians in Gaza, the effects of ecocide, the relationship between land dispossession and class, Israels selective pronatalism, and scholasticide among other topics.Tithi Bhattacharya is Professor of South Asian History at Purdue University and the author ofGhostly Past, Capitalist Presence, editor ofSocial Reproduction Theoryand co-author ofFeminism for the 99%which has been translated into over 30 languages. Susan Ferguson is Associate Professor Emerita at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Research Affiliate at the University of Houston. She is the author ofWomen and Work.

Feminism is once again on the political agenda. Across the world women are taking to the streets to protest unfair working conditions, abortion laws, and sexual violence. They are demanding decent wages, better schools and free childcare. But why do some feminists choose to fight for more women CEOs, while others fight for a world without CEOs?To understand these divergent approaches, Susan Ferguson looks at the ideas that have inspired women to protest, exploring the ways in which feminists have placed work at the centre of their struggle for emancipation. Two distinct trajectories emerge: ''equality feminism'' and ''social reproduction feminism''. Ferguson argues that socialists have too often embraced the ''liberal'' tendencies of equality feminism, while neglecting the insights of social reproduction feminism.Engaging with feminist anti-work critiques, Ferguson proposes that women''s emancipation depends upon a radical reimagining of all labour and advocates for a renewed social reproduction framework as a powerful basis for an inclusive feminist politics.