GREED,LUST &GENDER This page intentionally left blank GREED,LUST &GENDER a history of economic ideas nancy folbre 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York q Nancy Folbre 2009 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Clays Ltd., St Ives Plc ISBN 978 0 19 923842 2 13579108642 To A. M. C. W., open minded economist with a smattering of divinity This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The ideas developed here grew, in a topsy turvy way, out of an article I co authored with Heidi Hartmann, entitled ‘‘The Rhetoric of Self Interest: Ideology of Gender in Economic Theory,’’ presented at a conference memorably attended by Robert Coats, Arjo Klamer, Donald McCloskey, and Robert Solow, and published in the conference volume The Conse quences of Economic Rhetoric in 1988. I cannot accurately remember or adequately thank all those who have helped me over the last twenty years, but offer a brief chronology of gratitude that begins with institutional thanks. A generous fellowship from the French American Foundation that sent me to Paris in 1995 1996 offered me the opportunity to learn more about French history. Jean Heffer of the E´ cole des Hautes E´ tudes en Sciences Sociales served as a superb host and Linda Koike as logistical problem solver par excellence. A five year Fellowship from the McArthur Foundation in 1998 gave me the luxury of devoting time to the history of economic ideas. A position as visiting Adjunct Professor at the Social and Political Theory Program Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University widened my disciplinary horizons. A fellowship at the Russell Sage Foun dation in 2005 2006 helped me expand my ideas. A Samuel F. Conti Fellowship from my own institution, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, facilitated my final revisions. My friendship with Anthony Waterman, to whom this book is dedicated, has proved one of the most rewarding aspects of this adventure. Despite strong disagreement with many of my specific arguments, Anthony consist ently provided warm, supportive, detailed, and extremely knowledgeable feedback. His efforts improved my own intellectual capabilities, as well as the manuscript, in profound ways. Deirdre McCloskey also offered generous viii acknowledgments encouragement and assistance animated by her love of bourgeois virtues. Thank you, friends, for strengthening my faith in the virtues of academic debate. The International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE) and its journal, Feminist Economics, created a rich new intellectual space for the development of my ideas. I greatly appreciate the largely anonymous efforts of members, officers, editors, and contributors. My close personal and professional relationships with feminist scholars Paula England and Julie Nelson informs everything I write. I’m grateful for their direct and indirect contributions to this final product. Robert Goodin of the Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University also gave me invaluable feedback and encouragement. I thank Robert Dimand, Evelyn Forget, and Janet Seiz for attending a meeting (along with Anthony Waterman) to discuss an earlier version of this manuscript in San Antonio, Texas in 2002. Conversations with Ulla Grapard and Edith Kuiper as well as their pioneering work in the history of feminist economics, contributed to the development of my ideas. My friend and colleague in Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Carol Heim, gave me the benefit of her broad knowledge of economic history and careful attention to detail. My colleague in English at this university, Nicholas Bromell, offered many discerning comments and suggestions. Others who offered comments and criticisms on specific chapters include Elisabetta Addis, Gerald Friedman, Susan Himmelweit, and Wally Seccombe. Over the last two years I have used this manuscript in a writing course on the History of Economic Thought, asking students for feedback on my work in return for mine on theirs. I hope we are all better writers as a result. Thanks to my students in Spring 2007: Dalyah Assil, Scott Babineau, John Barrington, Rick Bihrle, Alex Brotschi, Whitney Dorin, Charles Forsyth, Jacob Gordon, Daniel Kelly, Samir Khan, Nathan Kollett, Andrew Mackay, Mitchell Markowitz, Paul Piquette, Tomer Radbil, Michael Sullivan, and Nicholas Swaim. Thanks to those in Fall 2007: James Burbidge, Matthew Donalds, Matthew Greenstein, Sami Korna, Betty Mac, Ali McGuirk, Greg Michalopoulos, Sean Monroe, Michael Monsegur, Huy Nguyen, Matthew Radowicz, Mark Rovenskiy, Alexis Santiago, Christina Shuker, Zach Simmons, Matthew Spurlock, Thien Tran, Alex Weinstein, and Amanda Wong. acknowledgments ix My editor at Oxford University Press, Sarah Caro, always responded smartly to my questions and concerns and nudged me in the right directions. The memory of my good friend Helen Smith, superb writer, editor, and independent intellectual, sustained my efforts. My husband Robert Dworak indulged many of my sins. Thanks to all. While every effort was made to contact the copyright holders of material in this book, there are instances where we have been unable to do so. If the copyright holders contact the author or publisher we will be pleased to rectify any omission at the earliest opportunity. This page intentionally left blank TABLEOFCONTENTS Epigraph xvii Introduction xix 1. The Eye of the Needle 1 Liberation 2 Damnation 4 Patriarchal Feudalism 5 The Growth of Markets 7 Patriarchal Ideology 8 Markets and Mentalite´s 11 Regulation 13 2. The Springs of Desire 18 The Commonwealth of Fathers 19 Patriarchy Defended 21 Patriarchy Modified 22 A Supremacy to Themselves 25 (Re)production 27 Sexual Efficiency 29 Contractual Power 30 3. Defining Virtues 35 The Ancient Regime 36 Age and Gender, Love and Sex 38 The Rebellion of the Harem 39 The Climate of Reason 41 xii table of contents Self, Love, God, and Nature 43 Commerce and Virtue 44 Human Nature 45 4. Free Trade but Not Free Love 49 Humanism 50 Selfishness Celebrated 51 Sexual Regulation 54 Love Thyself 55 The Butcher, the Baker, and the Wife 58 The Balance 61 5. The Limits of Affection 67 Sweet Commerce 68 The Fraternal Compromise 70 Slavery and Evil 72 Feminism and Abolition 75 Observers from Abroad 77 Democracy in America 78 6. The Perfectibility of Man 84 Progress? 85 Of Bread and Cake 88 Interests and the Revolution 89 Malevolence Theorized 93 Timid Egoism 95 7. The Greatest Happiness 99 Chivalry versus Calculation 100 The Vindication 101 Godwin’s Enquiry 103 The Greatest Good 105 Gendered Virtues 108 8. Self-love, Triumphant 111 Poor Relief 112 The Essay on Population 113 Against Benevolence 116 table of contents xiii The Improper Arts 117 Malthus and Women 120 Enlightenment Redux 121 9. Production and Reproduction 125 Patriarchal Capitalism 126 The Rise of Individual Occupations 128 The Labor Theory of Value 130 Child Labor and the Poor Laws 132 Fertility and Out of Wedlock Births 134 The Wages of Virtue 135 Family Disruptions 138 10. Whose Wealth? 143 Wealth Demoralized 144 The Limits to Growth 145 Collective Interests 147 The Corn Laws 149 Free Trade 150 Protectionism 152 Selfish Classes 154 11. The Social Family 158 The Social Father 159 The Great Dream 161 Class and Gender 163 Owen’s Economics 164 The Appeal of One Half the Human Race 165 Feminist Socialism 167 Utopian and Scientific 169 12. Equal Opportunities 174 Napoleonic Code 175 Secular Humanism 176 The Sexual Radicals 177 Le Tribune des Femmes 179 The Calculus of Harmony 180 The Sexual Welfare State 182 xiv tableofcontents Brook Farm 184 Crazy Attempts 186 13. The Subjection of Women 190 The Partnership 191 The Subjection of Women 195 Political Activism 198 A Fundamental Question 201 14. Declaring Independence 205 Peculiar Institutions 206 Equality and Difference 208 Collective Interests 211 The Economic Significance of Family Work 212 Divorce and Reproductive Rights 214 Balancing Acts 217 15. The Icy Waters 222 Revolutions 223 Scientific Self Interest 225 The Holy Family 226 The Response to Bebel 227 Bebel and Social Democracy 229 The Survival of the Altruistic 230 The Free Development of All 232 16. The Sacred Sphere 235 Domestic Advice 236 The Meaning of Motherhood 238 Neoclassical Altruism 239 Women’s Duties 243 Virtue and Consequences 247 17. The Unproductive Housewife 251 Counting Workers 252 The U.S. and Massachusetts Censuses 253 A Double Bind 256 Home Economics and Household Production 258 table of contents xv National Income and the Value of Labor Services 260 The Meaning of the Adjectives 263 18.