Socialist Feminism
During the last decade, Socialists have come to a new realization of non-economic sources of oppression. In large measure the women’s movement has brought this about. In the U.S., reaction to women’s oppression in the anti-war movement of the 1960’s was a major factor in sparking the Women’s Liberation movement (see Sara Evans, Personal Politics). Socialist feminism is an attempt to explain the sources of oppression and transform society into a non-patriarchal community. Party member Linda Nelson in the Missouri Valley Socialist defined socialist feminism this way:
The combination of socialism and feminism has created a strong, comprehensive perspective from which to see and move to change the problems of our time. Both are critical ways of looking at the world. They both reveal certain often overlapping inequalities. They aid us in seeing injustice in terms of antagonists. Feminists find subjugation due to the capitalist economic system…The unique vantagepoint of socialist feminism allows us to not only work toward a new economic order and political system, but also to appreciate the need for change in the social and culture aspects of life. We seek not just a superficial equality, but a deep-rooted one.