Caliban and the witch - Silvia Federici

Illustration of a witch burning
Illustration of a witch burning

Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages to the witch-hunts and the rise of mechanical philosophy, Federici investigates the capitalist rationalization of social reproduction. She shows how the battle against the rebel body and the conflict between body and mind are essential conditions for the development of labor power and self-ownership, two central principles of modern social organization.

Submitted by subprole on September 12, 2011

Attachments

caliban.pdf (13.37 MB)

Comments

pikatron

12 years 1 month ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by pikatron on October 22, 2012

an interview with silvia where she talks about the main arguments in her book can be found here: http://en.labournet.tv/video/6382/caliban-and-witch

Spikymike

8 years 11 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Spikymike on January 5, 2016

There is also this short Dauve critique here: www.troploin.fr/node/85

Mike Harman

7 years 5 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Mike Harman on June 29, 2017

Better version of this now at https://www.gitbook.com/book/anarchivists/caliban/details - we should update here with that version.