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Abstract

In contemporary social science, “social reproduction” is widely discussed. This paper focuses on two pioneering approaches to a Marxist-feminist conceptualizing of the field: the contributions of the Wages for Housework movement and Lise Vogel’s work. The article clarifies their underpinnings and critically reflects on their import. The shortcomings of the first approach boil down to the thesis that housework is productive labor, which stems from a specific understanding of reproduction. A chief deficit of the second approach lies in its abstract approach to socio-historical mechanisms and its insufficient reflection on gendered power dynamics. Their problems notwithstanding, these classical contributions remain a valuable basis for other theorists that expand the framework of social reproduction in the context of a global perspective and contemporary changes in capitalist relations.