The Oppression of Women and the Two Outmodeds

From Unresolved Contradictions, Driving Forces for Revolution, 2009

In today’s world, with regard to the woman question we see again the relevance of the “two historically outmodeds.” In A Declaration: For Women’s Liberation and the Emancipation of All Humanity, published by our party earlier this year (2009), the following is cited:

What we see in contention here with Jihad on the one hand and McWorld/McCrusade on the other hand, are historically outmoded strata among colonized and oppressed humanity up against historically outmoded ruling strata of the imperialist system. These two reactionary poles reinforce each other, even while opposing each other. If you side with either of these “outmodeds,” you end up strengthening both. ¹²

That Declaration immediately goes on to emphasize the point that:

Between these two “outmodeds” it is the imperialist ruling classes, and that of the U.S. in particular, which have, by far, done the most harm to humanity and pose the greatest threats. In fact, imperialist domination itself in the Middle East, Indonesia, and elsewhere—along with the massive disruption and dislocation that this domination causes, and the corruption, venality and vicious repression characteristic of the local governments that are dependent on and serve imperialism—gives great fuel to the fire of Islamic fundamentalism as a response to all this, although a reactionary one.

This brings into relief the way in which the other “outmoded”—that is, medieval forms of the oppression of women by Islamic fundamentalists and others in parts of the Third World—is being utilized by those who, at least objectively, side with the imperialist “outmoded” and attempt to prettify—and in some aspects even to promote—the “modern” forms of the oppression of women that are more common in the imperialist countries, and to divert attention and struggle around the oppression of women into a framework that reinforces the imperialist system, which is in reality the main and most fundamental force perpetuating oppression, including of the most horrific kinds, in all parts of the world.

…                          

In sum: “Modern” capitalist society—or in reality the global system of capitalist imperialism—has inherited the oppression of women from past societies out of which capitalism has emerged, and while changing some of the forms in which this takes place, it has not eliminated, and cannot eliminate, this oppression; it has incorporated pre-capitalist forms of this oppression, in various parts of the world, particularly the Third World, into its overall, worldwide system of exploitation and oppression, and it perpetuates all this through the fundamental relations, the ongoing process of accumulation and the overall functioning of this capitalist-imperialist system itself. (Declaration; emphasis in original)

12. Here Declaration is quoting a statement that originally appeared in Bob Avakian’s talk “Why We’re in the Situation We’re In Today… And What to Do About It: A Thoroughly Rotten System and the Need for Revolution.” This talk is available online at bobavakian.net. [back]