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The Role of Women in Hobbes's Economic Thought

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2021

Joanne Boucher Open the ORCID record for Joanne Boucher [Opens in a new window]
Joanne Boucher*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3B 2E9
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

This article examines the role of women in Hobbes's economic thought. First, I frame Hobbes's economic thought in relation to his philosophical materialism so as to underscore the extent to which Hobbes's materialism entails the insight that human beings are, by definition, productive, economic creatures. I argue that his description of the economy, even without explicit acknowledgment, necessarily positions women as crucial economic actors. I then consider the implications of this in relation to the feminist possibilities of Hobbes's gender politics. I conclude that when deliberating on this question, we face the same conundrum that is evident in all literature considering Hobbes and gender. His radical comments about women in the state of nature are undermined by his seeming indifference to the state of women in commonwealths once they are founded.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article examine le rôle des femmes dans la pensée économique de Hobbes. Tout d'abord, j'encadre la pensée économique de Hobbes par rapport à son matérialisme philosophique afin de souligner à quel point le matérialisme de Hobbes implique l'idée que les êtres humains sont, par définition, des créatures productives et économiques. Je soutiens que sa description de l'économie, même sans reconnaissance explicite, positionne nécessairement les femmes comme des acteurs économiques cruciaux. J'examine ensuite les implications de ce fait par rapport aux possibilités féministes de la politique de genre de Hobbes. Je conclus qu'en délibérant sur cette question, nous sommes confrontés à la même énigme qui est évidente dans toute la littérature traitant de Hobbes et du genre. Ses commentaires radicaux sur les femmes dans l'état de nature sont sapés par son apparente indifférence à l'égard de la situation des femmes dans les commonwealths une fois ceux-ci fondés.

Keywords

early modern political thoughtearly modern economic thoughtThomas Hobbesfeminist theorypensée politique moderne précoceThomas Hobbesthéorie féministe
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 171 - 187
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Canadian Political Science Association (l’Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique

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