ABSTRACT
Alison Jaggar is best known for her book Feminist Politics and Human Nature in which she turns a critical eye on feminist theories of the early 1980s. She distinguishes four distinct political theories, liberal feminism, traditional Marxism, radical feminism, and socialist feminism, which she classifies in relation to their conceptions of human nature and their prescriptions for promoting gender equality. Jaggar rejects liberal feminism due to its emphasis on individualism, which cannot account for the intricate social web of relations most women exist in, and its reliance on the unattainable standpoint of pure objectivity. Jaggar argues that traditional Marxism tends to overemphasise the role of class in assessing oppression, and consequently leaves room for patriarchal influences in the ideal society. Jayawardena's feminist politics expose the complexities of Third World women's subordination within the triple bind created by male-centred imperialist, nationalist and religious revivalist discourses.
