Marx on 'Community of Women'

[Romeo]

In his Communist Manifesto, Marx argues for 'community of women', but doesn't actually explain what he means. Did he mean equal rights for women, or did he mean that women should be 'shared in common' instead of 'kept' as wives, thereby replacing marriage with free sex?

[Brugel]

"Community of women" means sharing women in common rather than equal rights for women. However, Marx himself didn't believe that women should be shared- rather he was in favour of equal rights.

The phrase came about as a result of Marx considering  some of the objections that the bourgeoisie might make against Communism. One possible complaint was that, since Communists wished to abolish private property and establish shared ownership then this would mean that women would become collectively owned- hence the "community of women".

Marx ridiculed this view because, he claimed, it showed that the bourgeoisie regarded women as nothing more than instruments of production,i.e private property. He also claimed that the bourgeoisie already had a community of women: they used prostitutes and slept with each other's wives. (I am sure that most subscribers to the AB will resent this disgraceful slur.)

[Octavius]

Women were certainly forced to do mundane labour for much less (if any) compensation. Child labour, which has since been banned in many industrialised countries, was widespread.  Marx seemed to be saying that, in many cases, the family only existed to provide labourers and he advocated the abolition of 'the family'.

It would be interesting to learn more about Marx�s feelings towards women as to their status in society. In the Manifesto, it�s clear that Marx saw the labour of the bourgeoisie as reducing values of age and sex. Maybe this means he didn't want women to be able to work. Or at least not as much. He also portrayed communism as advocating a "community of women," the women of society being shared by the men.  Apparently, this was part of the abolition of the family, since wives were exploited for labour at the time.  After Marx�s contention that the bourgeoisie "take the greatest pleasure in seducing each others wives," making bourgeois marriage "in reality a system of wives in common," he claims that a community of women would be no different than the situation with the bourgeoisie, just less hypocritical.  A "community of men," however, is not considered.

How can a community of women abolish prostitution unless this community of women, like capital, is treated as a commodity to be distributed equally against their will? If the women were to have a choice in the matter, this would reintroduce inequalities (i.e. likes/dislikes) that would be exploited by the payment of capital: prostitution. His solution therefore seems to be incompatible with free choice of the women involved.

[Grunty]

I'm glad Brugel answered this - I've been struggling to word a reply.

These sites might be useful.

http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.htm l

http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848 /communist-manifesto/ch02.htm

In reply to Brugel's assertion about sleeping with other people's wives - we are British you know.  You can get a severe tutting noise for suggesting such a thing.

[Grunty]

Sorry Octavius.  Yours wasn't on the screen when I wrote that.

[Octavius]

If the men are sharing their women, doesn't that mean that the women are also sharing the men...?