Book Review: Silvia Federici's Caliban and the Witch Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive book review of Silvia Federici's 'Caliban and the Witch,' delving into the book's exploration of gender, family structures, and the impact of primitive accumulation of capital. The review covers the book's key arguments, including Federici's analysis of wit...Read More

Book Review

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Brief general description of what the book is all about...............................................................1
Summary of arguments and main chapters..................................................................................1
Originality: Locating the book in the field to which it pertains...................................................2
Discussion....................................................................................................................................2
General appraisal.........................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION
Book review is delineated to thorough description, evaluation of quality, significance,
meaning and critical analysis of a book that is written in context to prior research of particular
topic. The preset review is based on a book that is named as “Caliban and the Witch” that is
written by Silvia Federici.
Th review includes brief description about what the book is about, summary of arguments
as well as main chapters, discussion and conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Brief general description of what the book is all about
Caliban and the Witch is concerned with exploration of gender along with family in the
period of primitive accumulation of capital. It was published in the year 2004 with the purpose of
drawing attention towards eclectic mix from viewpoints of Marxist and Feminist. It involves
history of body in transition to capitalism. The book includes critical alternative of Marx's theory
of primitive accumulation. It investigates capitalist rationalisation of social production and
comprises the ways battle against rebel body as well as mind are essential conditions for
developing labor power together with self ownership that are two central principles of modern
social business concern. The book is remembrance of trauma burned in women's body that left
scar on memory of human as deep along with painful like those caused through slaughter,
enslavement and famine.
Summary of arguments and main chapters
Caliban and the Witch includes following chapters with key arguments:
All the World Needs a Jolt: History of women as well as reproduction within “transition
to capitalism” begin with struggles which European medieval proletriat that includes small
peasants, day labourers and so on waged against feudal power in all forms. In this chapter,
Federici argues that witch hunts of sixteenth as well as seventeenth centuries served for creating
together with enforcing newly newly establishes role within society for females that are
consigned for unpaid reproductive labor with the hope of satisfying requirements of ascendant
capitalist order. Moreover, it is also said by Silvia in the chapter that dependence of women on
men within servile community is restricted by the fact that over the authority of their fathers as
well as husbands prevailed that of lords that claimed possession of property and persons of serfs,
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also tried to control their lives ranging from work, marriage and behaviour towards physiological
property.
The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women: In the chapter,
discussion of campaigns of craft workers for excluding women in trades is analysed. Federici
have commented that there were campaigns in which male working class and women in families
have worked together. However, males have desire for maintaining gender control on women
and it was argued that the campaign was successful as it dovetailed with capitalist hopes to
specify reproductive occupation of women as unpaid and in home. It also included political
consequences and coalitions of fight together.
The Great Caliban: One of fascinating claim made by the author is the chapter is about
new conditions of capitalist production forced the bourgeois to reframe relation among Reason,
Passion as well as Body prevalent in oldster and medieval world in order to find new aspects of
enhancing productive powers within bodies. Moreover, Federici reads debate among Descartes
to that of Hobbes on materialism versus dualism as variant strategies to deal with relation of
mind to that of body which have consequences for capitalist disciplining of worker bodies.
The Great Witch-Hunt in Europe: The chapter takes Marxist functional view poin that
it was a deliberative campaign, equal to a war that is against female to wrest control of their own
reproductive powers as well as reducing possibilities related to resistance to development of
capital of Europe for utilising reproduction as an aspect of augmenting labor power.
Furthermore, another concern raised by the author in the chapter includes role of irrational
factors in the war of terror on women.
Colonization and Christianization: The chapter have enhanced understanding about
responses inherent to logic of colonization and christianization which inevitable dehumanise as
well as fear those to whom it prefers to enslave.
Originality: Locating the book in the field to which it pertains
Caliban and the Witch is recognition of all things that are lost by women in context to
social power in transition of capital. The book belongs to field of capitalism which places women
at middle of story.
Discussion
The book argues various aspects including refusal of women to tale their places within
emerging capitalist reordering of society and hunts of witches despite of representing last dying
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breaths of feudal order as well as attendant superstitions of feudal societies. It also argues
whether relation among early capitalism, slavery as well as genocide is the area that is explored
by historians or critical race scholars that can be better used for extending appraisal of primitive
accumulation as per slaves and colonised people.
General appraisal
As per Caliban and the Witch, it have been concluded that the book is a reminder that it is
working of feminists as well as Marxists to demand which a sphere of reproduction as well as
continuing types of colonialism are considered as key sources for values of capitalism. It
provides learning of viewpoints of Frederici's careful along with sensitive comparison of hunting
of witches in distinct times, cultures addition to spaces. It can be appreciated by audiences as it is
re-emphasised by current gender wars in multiple components of globe. It is kind of protest
against deliberate ignorance as well as trivialisation of violence against female as witch hunting.
The book comprises brilliant historiography together with marshalling of facts related to
material, social change concerned with material, social change as well as ideological brought to
Europe, next to New World via capitalist along with imperialist development.
CONCLUSION
From the discussion, it can be concluded that book review provides an opportunity to
provide books wider visibility as well as greater chances to learn about findings of thoughts of
others. Through book review, reading, thinking along with writing skill are improved and
networks with various reviewers are build or maintained effectively.
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