With the notable exception of the Anglo-American versions, most
revolutions are premised on the belief that the existing structure of society
has been artificially imposed and that by altering that structure you can
remake human beings and human nature in a new image. So the French
Revolution required that the monarchy and the aristocracy be discarded
and expected that egalitarianism and brotherhood would follow, as day follows
night; meanwhile, Marxist
Revolutions suppose that once capitalism and capitalists are done away
with, the happy workers of the world will share and share alike.
Of course, history has shown these revolutionary ideals to be absolutely
ludicrous, and such revolutions have come a cropper when the ugly but immutable
facts of human nature have come roaring back with a vengeance.
This creates a rather hilarious situation whereby revolutionaries are continually
being surprised by manifestations of the very characteristics which mankind
has understood itself to have since time immemorial--greed, lust,selfishness,
etc.. Barbara Ehrenreich is not only a socialist, but a radical feminist,
which means that besides that Marxist vision, she also believes that once
the patriarchy is overthrown, men and women will be coequal and will live
in blessed harmony. This book then is based on her supposedly controversial
discovery that the disintegration of the nuclear family, which has generally
been blamed on feminism, owes just as much to the political desires of
men. Duh?
Just step back for a second and think about Women's Liberation has meant
for men. Basically, women have had to take on more economic responsibilities
and more child-rearing responsibilities, while at the same time their mortality
rates have begun to more closely match men's and, thanks to abortion of
female children and these worsening health rates, their absolute numbers
have begun to decline back towards those of men, or even below. In
exchange, men have gotten to slough off economic responsibility for women
and children, have been able to get out of child rearing responsibilities,
and have gotten much freer access to intercourse with females. How
can Ehrenreich possibly be surprised that men were willing participants
in this process ?
(Reviewed:)
Grade: (D)
Websites:
Barbara Ehrenreich Links:
-ESSAY: Disease of Our Making: Wars produce warlike societies, which in turn make the world more dangerous. (Barbara Ehrenreich, March 23, 2003, LA Times)
Book-related and General Links:
-ARCHIVES
: Barbara Ehrenreich (The Well)
-Barbara
Ehrenreich : contributing writer (The Nation)
-The
Progressive
-Barbara
Ehrenreich's ZNet HomePage
-BOOK
SITE : Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (Henry Holt)
-ESSAY
: Nickel-and-Dimed On (not) getting by in America.(Harper's Magazine,
January 01 1999 by Barbara Ehrenreich)
-EXCERPT
: from Nickel and Dimed (Indiana U)
-EXCERPT
: from Nickel and Dimed : Maid to Order (Barbara Ehrenreich, April,
2000, Harper's)
-INTERVIEW
: Three Part interview with Barbara Ehrenreich about Nickel and Dimed
(James Fallows, May 2001, The Atlantic Monthly)
-AUDIO
INTERVIEW : Life on Minimum Wage (Radio Nation)
-INTERVIEW
: BARBARA EHRENREICH : Maid to Order (David Barsamian, October 11,
2000, Alternative Radio)
-ESSAY
: Warning, This Is a Rights-Free Workplace (Barbara Ehrenreich, March
05, 2000 , NY Times Magazine)
-ESSAY
: Your Urine, Please (Barbara Ehrenreich, The Progressive)
-ESSAY
: BEHIND THE BOOK : Underpaid and undercover: surviving on seven bucks
an hour (Barbara Ehrenreich , Book Page)
-ESSAY
: What Are They Probing For ? : Applying for a job? Get ready for a test
of your innermost thoughts (Barbara Ehrenreich, June 2001, TIME)
-ESSAY
: Barefoot, Pregnant and Ready to Fight (Barbara Ehrenreich, TIME)
-ESSAY
: Talking Back to Mom : Re-reading the Feminine Mystique (Barbara Ehrenreich,
LA Weekly)
-ESSAY
: When Government Gets Mean : Confessions of a Recovering Statist (Barbara
Ehrenreich, The Nation)
-ESSAY
: The Post-Liberal Apocalypse.(Democratic Party Convention 2000) For
four days in August, it was end-times in L.A. ( Barbara Ehrenreich, The
Progressive, October 01 2000)
-ESSAY
: Why the Religious Right is Wrong (Barbara Ehrenreich, September
7, 1992, TIME)
-ESSAY
: Religion Starter Kits (Barbara Ehrenreich, The Progressive)
-ESSAY
: On Prayer (Barbara Ehrenreich , Z Magazine)
-ESSAY
: The Vision-Impaired Rich (Barbara Ehrenreich, The Progressive)
-ESSAY
: The New Creationism: Biology Under Attack (Barbara Ehrenreich
and Janet McIntosh, 6/9/97, The Nation)
-ESSAY
: VOTE FOR NADER (BARBARA EHRENREICH, August 21/28, 2000, The
Nation)
-ESSAY
: Don't Blame Me (Barbara Ehrenreich, November 28, 2000, TIME)
-ESSAY
: Communism on your coffee table! Barbara Ehrenreich on how all-conquering
capitalism has turned Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" into a glossy adornment
that goes with most decorating schemes. (Barbara Ehrenreich [04/30/98]
, Salon)
-ESSAY
: The Week Feminists Got Laryngitis (Barbara Ehrenreich, FEBRUARY 9,
1998, TIME)
-ESSAY
: Chasing Monica : The House managers got their wish -- a chance to probe,
examine and even "de-brief" the luscious Lewinsky. (Barbara Ehrenreich
[01/29/99] , Salon)
-ESSAY
: The Charge: Gynocide The Accused: The U.S. Government
(Barbara Ehrenreich, Mark Dowie and Stephen Minkin, Mother Jones)
-REVIEW
: of JIHAD VS. McWORLD By Benjamin R. Barber (Barbara Ehrenreich,
NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of CREATING A NEW CIVILIZATION The Politics of the Third Wave. By Alvin
Toffler and Heidi Toffler (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of THE SILENT PASSAGE Menopause. By Gail Sheehy (Barbara Ehrenreich,
NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of DIVORCE An American Tradition. By Glenda Riley
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of THE IMPERIAL MIDDLE : Why Americans Can't Think Straight
About Class By Benjamin DeMott (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times
Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of A TENURED PROFESSOR By John Kenneth Galbraith
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of MARY HEATON VORSE The Life of an American Insurgent. By
Dee Garrison. (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of INTIMATE MATTERS A History of Sexuality in America. By John
D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times
Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of A GOOD ENOUGH PARENT A Book on Child-Rearing. By Bruno Bettelheim
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of DAYS LIKE THIS A Tale of Divorce. By Phyllis Gillis
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of PERFECTION SALAD Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century.
By Laura Shapiro (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of WOMEN AGAINST CENSORSHIP Edited by Varda Burstyn (Barbara
Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of FASTER The Acceleration of Just About Everything. By James Gleick
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of WE BAND OF ANGELS The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped
on Bataan by the Japanese. By Elizabeth M. Norman (Barbara Ehrenreich,
NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of AMERICAN NOMAD By Steve Erickson (Barbara Ehrenreich,
NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of CLASS ACT America's Last Dirty Secret. By Benita Eisler
(Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of THE PILL, JOHN ROCK, AND THE CHURCH The Biography of a Revolution.
By Loretta McLaughlin (Barbara Ehrenreich, NY Times Book
Review)
-REVIEW
: of Frozen Desire: An Inquiry into the Meaning of Money By James
Buchan (Barbara Ehrenreich, Z Magazine)
-BOOKNOTES
: Author: Barbara Ehrenreich Title: Fear of Falling: The Inner Life
of the Middle Class Air date: October 8, 1989 (C-SPAN)
-INTERVIEW
: Mothers Who Think: Does President Clinton feel women's pain -- or cause
it? Feminist author Barbara Ehrenreich lashes out at a White House
workplace that seems organized around President Clinton's 'problem.' (Lori
Leibovich [03/19/97] , Salon)
-INTERVIEW
: Writing for the Mainstream : An interview with Barbara Ehrenreich
(October 1997, Z Magazine)
-INTERVIEW
: Rites of war : After studying the roots of combat, Barbara Ehrenreich
finds the Balkans crisis all too familiar. (Peter Werbe, 4/21/99, Metro
Times)
-INTERVIEW
: MEDIA DIET: Barbara Ehrenreich (Utne Reader)
-PROFILE
: Barbara Ehrenreich Enemy of Labor (Judith Shulevitz, March 29, 2000,
Slate)
-PROFILE
: 1995 Visionaries (Utne Reader)
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (TIME)
-ARCHIVES
: "ehrenreich" (Mother Jones)
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (The Progressive)
-ARCHIVES
: Salon.com Directory | Barbara Ehrenreich : A complete listing
of Salon articles on Barbara Ehrenreich
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (Slate)
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (NY Review of Books)
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (Mag Portal)
-ARCHIVES
: ehrenreich (Find Articles)
-REVIEW
: of NICKEL AND DIMED On (Not) Getting By in America. By Barbara Ehrenreich
(Dorothy Gallagher, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Steve Early, The Nation)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Philip Connors, In These Times)
-REVIEW
: of NICKEL AND DIMED On (Not) Getting By in America. By Barbara Ehrenreich
(Laura Miller, Salon)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Arianna Huffington, Salon)
-REVIEW
: of Nickle and Dimed (Katherine S. Newman, Washington Post)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Anne Colomosca, Business Week)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (JEANNIE KEVER, Houston Chronicle)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America By Barbara Ehrenreich
(Steve Weinberg, Chicago Tribune)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed : How Low They Can Go : Social critic Barbara
Ehrenreich explores the life of low-wage workers and finds them bowedóbut
not brokenóby the weight of an economic boom (Mark Gleason , Book)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Richard Hunt, City Beat)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Vivien Labaton, Ms)
-REVIEW
: of Nickel and Dimed (Eileen Boris, Boston.com)
-REVIEW
: of THE HEARTS OF MEN, American Dreams and the Flight From Commitment.
By Barbara Ehrenreich (Carol Tavris, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of RE-MAKING LOVE The Feminization of Sex. By Barbara Ehrenreich, Elizabeth
Hess and Gloria Jacobs (1986) (Judith Viorst, NY Times Book Review)
&nbs p;
-REVIEW
: of The Worst Years of Our Lives (1990) (HERBERT MITGANG, NY
Times)
-REVIEW
: of THE WORST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (H. Jack Geiger, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of Kipper's Game By Barbara Ehrenreich (MICHIKO KAKUTANI, NY Times)
-REVIEW
: of Kipper's Game (Michael Upchurch, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of BLOOD RITES Origins and History of the Passions of War. By Barbara
Ehrenreich (1997) (Michael Sherry, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: Oct 9, 1997 Michael Ignatieff: The Gods of War, NY Review of Books
Blood Rites: Origins and History
of the Passions of War by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Rosy Future of War by Philippe
Delmas
Postmodern War: The New Politics
of Conflict by Chris Hables Gray
-REVIEW
: of Blood Rites (Thomas Powers, The Atlantic Monthly)
-REVIEW
: of BLOOD RITES: Origins and History of the Passions of War Barbara
Ehrenreich (Jam Book Reviews)
-REVIEW
: of Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War.(The Humanist,
Edd Doerr)
-REVIEW
: of BLOOD RITES (New Statesman, Roz Kaveney)
-REVIEW
: of Blood Rites (Cath Walsh, Richmond Review)
-REVIEW
: of FEAR OF FALLING The Inner Life of the Middle Class. By Barbara Ehrenreich
(Jefferson Morley, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW
: of Fear of Falling (Scott London)
GENERAL :
-ESSAY
: $8.25 an hour in a million-dollar world : It was hard for lower-end
workers to make ends meet in the Bay Area of the dot-com boom. And it's
still hard in the bust. (King Kaufman, Salon)
-ESSAY
: Venus at the Ballot Box : Women may lean toward the "Mommy State,"
but their politics are more complex than pundits recognize (Cathy Young,
Feb 2001, Reason)
