“Because the powerful view the rest of humanity as something alien, they are incapable of conceiving new ideas, of creating different ways of organizing society; they are incapable even of understanding that if they do not change radically they will not be able to maintain for much longer the status quo that benefits them so much. They are incapable of seeing that the present capitalist system that undergirds their status and privileges carries within it the seeds of its own destruction.”
— Ada María lsasi Díaz, The Mother of Mujerista Theology
I realized something this week that I am a bit embarrassed to admit. Of the founders and small business owners I have advised in the last 5 years, only 2 have been women. That’s already changing this year for me, and I look forward to introducing these talented women to you. But the fact that I had never considered that most of my clients have been men gives me pause. I’m surely not the only one to have this blind spot, and this pattern runs deep in our systems, institutions and government.
This reminds me of what I learned about Adam Smith, the founder of capitalism. In short, Smith believed that economic prosperity would require division of labor and a free (unconstrained) market for competition to thrive.
Further, people’s self-interest would prevail in order to keep the market in balance. Basically, markets are rational because people are rational … seeds of doubt planted … so much about the pandemic economy seems irrational to me right now …
So that means, a free market will keep supply and demand, and therefore price, in check. Just like when toilet paper, hand sanitizer and PPE became scarce, right?
I have never thought this way of thinking to be exactly rational, mainly because it seemed not to reflect my worldview. Now I learn that Smith had a blind spot.
Adam Smith never married, had no kids and lived with his mother. Swedish journalist Katrine Marçal’s wrote book, “Who Cooked Adam’s Smith’s Dinner?” that went after the Achilles’ heal in Smith’s popular economic theory:
The goal of her book is to topple Adam Smith’s idea of the “economic man,” which he summed up in “Wealth of Nations” with the quote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” But that formulation does not work, Marçal argues, without the tireless invisible labor of the other half of the world: women.
The so-called “Father of Capitalism” never gave a second thought to his mother’s unpaid labor long enough to reconsider his economic theory.
Thankfully, we can also study the teachings of women like Ada María lsasi Díaz, whose moniker as the “Mother of Mujerista Theology”, addresses the same blind spot in Black Liberation theology. Womanist views have been excluded from every major institution, including institutionalized religion.
lsasi Díaz points out what Smith missed. The everyday practices of women (lo cotodiano) have both spiritual and economic value that society, and business in particular, discounts. Economists, business leaders and policymakers are catching up to these ideas — not only in terms of safety nets and benefits like paid family leave, but also with bold proposals like introducing a universal basic income — that is basically a financial guarantee, for when the unexpected happens — like a pandemic, that forces low-wage workers to stay home.
The idea that the unemployed, or underemployed, are unproductive, or that caregiving does not contribute value to the economy, are blind spots. It is also, at least partially, responsible for why systemic inequity persists. The burden often falls on women, especially millennials and women of color, who are increasingly sharing the cost of caregiving for a loved one. We can no longer be blind to these realities.
My mom’s voice resonates in my head once again, as it did in yesterday’s post: ¡Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente! (translation: “blind eyes, cold heart”).
When women are fully valued — and centered — in our economy and productivity models, we might all benefit from real, structural change. Let’s not let that be a blind spot anymore.
Onward, my People.
Are you a caregiver? …
One of the issues innate to being a caregiver is recognizing when you are one.
In certain cultures, our duty to family drives how we give care. But it comes with a cost, and we can find healthier ways to value ourselves, our time and our care.
If you find yourself taking care of a loved one — even in the most seemingly small way, like helping make a COVID vaccination appointment — you are a caregiver.
The Love Labor Project has a great set of resources for caregivers.
Remember, sharing is caring. 🤓
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