ABSTRACT
Classical Marxist feminists work within the conceptual terrain laid out by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, and other nineteenth-century thinkers. To appreciate the differences between classical Marxist and contemporary socialist feminism, we need to understand the Marxist concept of human nature. For the liberal, the ideas, thoughts, and values of individuals account for change over time. To the degree Marxist and socialist feminists believe women's work shapes their thoughts and thus 'female nature', these thinkers also believe capitalism is a system of power as well as exchange relations. Like the Marxist analysis of power, the Marxist analysis of class has provided both Marxist and socialist feminists with some of the conceptual tools necessary to understand women's oppression. Like the Marxist theories of economics and society, the Marxist theory of politics offers Marxist and socialist feminists insights to help liberate women from the forces that oppress them.
