Thread by @jofx

Have you thought to wonder how 🇨🇦's #HousingCrisis relates to the transition from #feudalism to #capitalism, through the lens of #feminism? I did, so I asked ChatGPT to help, with focus on Silvia Federici's writings in her book, Caliban and the Witch. 1/11

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#cdnpoli #onpoli

Canada's housing crisis today can be understood through the lens of the historical process of capitalist accumulation discussed in the book, Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici. 2/11

The book argues that the transition from feudalism to capitalism was not a natural or inevitable process, but rather a violent and coercive one that involved the dispossession of land, resources, and knowledge from common people, particularly women. 3/11

Similarly, in Canada's housing crisis, we see the ongoing dispossession of people's homes, particularly those of marginalized communities such as Indigenous peoples and low-income families, in the pursuit of profit and private property ownership. 4/11

The book highlights the ways in which the new system of capitalism sought to discipline and control workers' bodies and labor, particularly women's bodies, through the imposition of new forms of work discipline and reproductive control. 5/11

This historical process of exploitation and oppression of the working class continues today through the extraction of surplus value from workers, who are increasingly precarious and lacking in job security. 6/11

Furthermore, the crisis is perpetuated through the exploitation of women's unpaid reproductive and care work. 7/11

Canada's housing crisis can be seen as a result of the profit-driven market forces that prioritize the interests of investors and developers over the basic needs and rights of people to safe, affordable, and adequate housing. 8/11

The book calls for a reclamation of the commons and a shift towards community-led solutions that prioritize the needs and rights of people over profit. 9/11

Restoring collective forms of land use, knowledge, and resources that were destroyed during the transition to capitalism is critical. 10/11

Understanding the historical and ongoing processes of capitalist accumulation and dispossession can help us work towards a more just and equitable society that values and prioritizes the needs of all people over the interests of the few. 11/11

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