Libertarianism and the Ladies
Posted on March 1, 2011 at 2.32 pm
Q. What do you think of feminism? — joyshapes, from tumblr.
A. That depends on the type of feminism in question.
First-wave feminism, which is concerned with acquiring for women the same legal rights that men hold, I certainly support. Presumably (and hopefully) there are few in the modern West who would still oppose this.
Second-wave feminism, most identified with procuring for women equality in the workplace, I think is in many cases a good thing so long as it is pursued through voluntary action rather than government coercion. So if, for instance,a group of women wishes to band together to lobby their employer for equal pay for equal work, I’m all for that. In fact, if I was employed at the same place and the pay difference was enough to make me risk job loss, I might well join them. But if they want to have Congress pass a law forcing their employer to pay them at a certain parity rate, I’m out.
Third-wave feminism I honestly don’t know enough about to provide a coherent opinion. It seems to lack a clear, unified goal — though one dominant concern is securing the perpetual legality of abortions, a project with which I can’t at all agree. In addition, at least in the academic articles I’ve read on the subject in sociology and political science classes, third-wave feminism seems largely identified with extremely statist political ideologies with which I’d obviously take issue.
Q. I was just curious to find out your opinion about the fed cutting funding to planned parenthood. — mikelernerphotography, from tumblr.
A. Embarrassingly, I had no idea this was happening until it was already all over the news. Clearly I’m a failure at being a news junkie…oh well.
The GOP-led House passed an amendment Friday night that would eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood….
Planned Parenthood is already barred from using federal funds to perform most abortions, but is the largest abortion provider in the U.S. and a frequent target of pro-life advocates….
The amendment was part of a bill to cut $61 billion from hundreds of federal programs, which passed in the House 235-189 on Saturday morning. Now it will be sent to the Senate, where it will be harder to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate and a veto threat from the President.
I’m in favor of the cuts, but not primarily because of my position on abortion and Planned Parenthood. I understand, as many have been quick to mention, that Planned Parenthood does not primarily provide abortions and that it does not do so with federal funding, as is quoted above. Though the fact that Planned Parenthood also provides abortion gives me personal reasons to want it defunded, I don’t think that’s the main issue here. Indeed, if Planned Parenthood was a Christian, pro-life counseling and adoption center, I’d still want it defunded by the government, because funding either of these things goes outside the proper role of government.
I very much like the application of Bastiat to the situation made here:
When we oppose subsidies, we are charged with opposing the very thing that it was proposed to subsidize and of being the enemies of all kinds of activity, because we want these activities to be voluntary and to seek their proper reward in themselves. Thus, if we ask that the state not intervene, by taxation, in education, then we hate enlightenment…proceeding from the premise that nothing exists except by the will of the state, you conclude that nothing lives that taxes do not keep alive.
Thank you for the reply. I think you may have the wrong idea about third wave feminism. The movement actually tends to draw a lot from individualist and libertarian philosophy (“ifeminism” or libertarian feminism is a subset of third wave feminism and the terms are often used interchangeably). Indeed, it can be fairly argued that the movement emerged largely as an alternative to the socialist focus of the second wave. I suggest you check out Wendy McElroy’s site ifeminists.com. She is a libertarian anarchist and third wave feminist.
Thanks, I’ll take a look! I’m sort of familiar with McElroy (I’m actually referencing a couple of her articles on child support for another question I’m answering right now), but haven’t read anything of hers specifically on feminism.