Reading Public Seminar, Thinking about the Relationships between Gender Justice and Free Public Life
Below, find an excerpt of Jeffrey C. Goldfarb’s essay, “Is There No Feminism Without Capitalism?” The whole piece is available through Public Seminar.
“Now. Those discussions inform my appreciation of the latest developments, anticipating their future promise. The #MeToo movement in the aftermath of the Weinstein scandal has made visible the depth and breath of profound problems, which are being frankly debated in unprecedented ways. I find it encouraging that there are strong disagreements about the issues involved in the general public and on universities, including The New School. We should be careful not to engage in witch hunts, (or is it warlock hunts with their very special link to patriarchal structures of power, as Katie Gentile emphasizes?). Those accused of sexual harassment and worse, certainly should have their rights protected, as Andrew Arato underscores. Yet, as Claire Potter, along with others, has emphasized, while legal protections of the accused predators and of their survivors are important matters, the challenges go far beyond that – dealing with the messy complexities of sex and power at the university.
The politics of sex at universities involves great complexity and ambiguity that must be recognized, along with the differences of analyses and judgments. That this is being discussed, informed by public recognition of experiences of harassment, assault and rape that were previously hidden, suggests to me we are seeing the beginnings of a radical transformation, an enriched public sphere. I recognize the profound reckoning that is now happening, as Jessica Delgado has analyzed. The #MeToo movement became visible through celebrity scandals and it hits us academics close to home, but it is going far beyond us.”