La Ricchezza Invisibile delle Nazioni

by Victoria Bateman

Un giorno Robert Solow, premio Nobel per l’economia, disse ridendo che, se a Milton Friedman ogni cosa faceva pensare alla moneta, a lui tutto ricordava il sesso – ma se ne guardava bene dallo scriverne. Un aneddoto divertente diventato popolare tra gli economisti ma che, secondo Victoria Bateman, nasconde una verità scomoda, e persino pericolosa: la teoria economica, infatti, è stata elaborata ignorando colpevolmente sesso e genere, risultando perciò inadeguata a spiegare (tanto meno a risolvere) temi cruciali come la povertà, la disuguaglianza o l’opposizione tra Stato e mercato. In questo saggio, l’autrice mostra come la liberazione femminile non sia stata un elemento secondario, bensì decisivo, nell’origine della ricchezza dell’Occidente, di norma spiegata esclusivamente con l’intraprendenza e l’inventiva maschili, e che proprio nell’uguaglianza di genere risieda il potenziale trasformativo capace di generare crescita e prosperità – una prosperità che sia anche equa e sostenibile. Se l’economia dipende dal lavoro gratuito che viene svolto a casa prevalentemente dalle donne, la sfera domestica non può essere trascurata dalla maggior parte delle analisi; se le donne sono le più colpite dalla crisi climatica, le politiche ecologiche non possono prescindere dal loro ruolo per essere efficaci; se, infine, la teoria economica è oggi inaridita, ridotta a una branca della matematica applicata, e intrisa di pregiudizi maschilisti come l’idea che le donne debbano “farsi avanti” nel lavoro, cioè correggendosi per aderire a un modello non pensato per loro, un suo ripensamento è urgente. Con questo libro Victoria Bateman afferma che è necessario riportare al centro dell’analisi non un approccio, ma un contenuto: le molteplici attività umane, anche quelle che si svolgono lontano dal mercato, imparando ad ascoltare non soltanto politici e imprese, ma anche i gruppi lontani dalle attività economiche ufficiali. Procedendo nel modo in cui ha fatto finora, l’economia ha conseguito un risultato paradossale: rendersi molto meno rilevante per la vita delle persone di quanto meriti di essere. La ricchezza invisibile delle nazioni è un manifesto scritto per dare all’economia una nuova forza, la forza di diventare una disciplina più flessibile, umana e utile, capace non solo di migliorare la vita delle donne nel mondo intero, ma anche di portare a risultati economici più equi e sostenibili per tutti.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Economics, Womens

268 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

also published under the name Tracey Bateman

Reviews

[Austin Gaghadar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall thought this book was very well argued, very interesting and concisely crafted. The author clearly has a message she was trying to send and was open about acknowledging this fact, instead of trying to pass as an impartial assessment. One of my favourite things about this book is that it gave me a lot to think about. It is the type of book that could prompt a paradigm shift in the way that you both reflect on information that you have learned in the past and digest new information. There were many issues in the book that I felt were important to discuss and while I did not agree with all of the views, opinions and interpretations espoused by the author it provided a focal point for reflecting on these topics. Moreover this reflection prompted the need to first identify how I felt about a given issue and then critically examine and engage with the arguments made by the author which I enjoyed.
I also felt that this book was very well structured with the different sections as well as the overall book very clearly laid out providing ease of understanding and helping to facilitate and coalesce the overarching narrative. Beyond this, while some parts were repeated for effect, the writing style was concise and efficient, making the information easier to understand and made reading this book much more enjoyable.
A further thing about this book that I found very interesting was the lack of institutional affiliations and credentials (beyond recognizing some people as Nobel Prize winners) when referencing academics and the arguments that they have made, switching the focus from the credibility of the author more to the substance of their argument which I thought was an interesting choice. I also appreciated the global orientation of the book drawing evidence from countries all around the world to compare and contrast. Finally I enjoyed the practical orientation with respect to how these lessons can be used moving forward to try to improve both the discipline of economics, the global economy and the world more generally.

[John Tissandier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very readable and important feminist book that uses history, psychology and philosophy, to show that economists cannot answer the big questions of their discipline if they continue to imagine it’s gender neutral. They have to take on board sex and gender. Then it can be seen that women played an important part in the industrial revolution and the subsequent relative wealth of the west compared with “the rest”, where woman have not enjoyed as much freedom and independence. Equality has to be present in the home and then it filters up into democratic institutions and the state. But it can’t start in the home unless the market is fair to woman and offers the opportunities they need. It’s a two-way street.

The book includes a defence of sex workers and asks the question: why is it that women are allowed to monetize their brains, but not their bodies?

The book argues that for a world of prosperity and equality, women need the freedom to choose what they do with their bodies, particularly when it comes to fertility and childbirth. Unfortunately many of the poorest women do not have access to birth control. If this was tackled it would help with many issues, including overpopulation and the depletion of the environment.

Victoria Bateman is well known for her nude protests. The elephant in the room is the fact that the economy free-rides on the free-labour of women in the domestic sphere, caring for the young and the old. Without this work the market wouldn't work. But it remains unrecognised even though when quantified it is equivalent to a large percentage of GDP. She tries to make this visible by displaying her naked body at public lectures and events.

[Elisabetta Felici · Rating 3 out of 5]

Partito bene, finito male: nei primi capitoli si parla molto di donne, ma negli ultimi ci si concentra troppo sulla teoria economica, senza citare le donne.
A fine lettura, mi rimane la domanda: quanto hanno contribuito le donne alla crescita dell'economia? Chissà.

[I Read, Therefore I Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Victoria Bateman is a fellow and lecturer in economics at Cambridge University and campaigns against the marginalisation of women’s bodies in public life. This book, which makes some interesting points but is too dependent on sweeping assertions and broad generalisations, she argues that economics is gender biased and fails to consider both how women are important for economic growth and how real human behaviour impacts on economic activity.

[Sue]

So good, I've bought a copy so that I can reread and annotate. Full of useful information about the historical impact of women's freedom or lack of it on the success and sustainability of states and societies.

[Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voy a ser honesto: este libro me decepcionó. Creo que el problema principal es que la autora trata de abordar muchos temas sin un hilo conductor claro a través de ellos.

La mejor parte fue el primer tercio, después sí se cae.

[Emma Hollar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this, was a great multidisciplinary explanation of the crossover between economics and feminism. Left me thinking about more intersectionalities such as race and the overall gender spectrum.

[Bosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75*

[Paavo Karlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book was full of thought provoking material it could have needed stronger editing, quite a lot of repetition and not enough clarity between chapters. Content 4,5/5, "readability" 2/5.

[Paul Crider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Women matter for both economic growth and economic freedom. This statement encapsulates Victoria Bateman's project in the Sex Factor. Bateman marshals several interesting points. One idea I hadn't encountered was that the age of first marriage in northern Europe at the beginning of the industrial revolution was quite old relative to the rest of the world: mid-20s in some cases. This both allowed some families to build some marginal start-up wealth and decreased the average size of families. Smaller families meant relatively fewer workers, which tended to push wages up. The higher wages increased pressure for labor-saving innovations. The story rings true to this non-economist, but I would like to have read several hundred more pages of the argument, with greater detail of how these factors failed to materialize in various other times and places.

Another interesting point Bateman brings up is the relative liberation the nuclearization of the European family afforded women. I'm used to reading about the nuclear family in terms of male domination, so this was a novel perspective. But as long as we're speaking in relative terms, it makes sense that a woman has greater agency in managing a small household than she does being bossed around by family elders in a much larger extended family household.

Bateman's lesson for current economic policy is that women's freedom is a key ingredient to overcoming sluggish growth. Reproductive freedom allows women to control the size of their families and to build greater personal wealth. Welfare provides a safety net so that a woman can leave oppressive relationships without losing everything. Universal or subsidized childcare liberates women to pursue careers without suffering a decade or longer hiatus in professional development.

Bateman occupies a rare ideological niche of being both feminist and capitalist. One small complaint I had about the book is the missed opportunity of engaging with Ann Cudd's work on feminism and capitalism. Cudd is briefly mentioned but not really engaged. This is unfortunate because in Capitalism For and Against, Cudd provides powerful arguments from a solid philosophical basis for the feminist elements of both existing imperfect capitalism and the possibility of reformed, explicitly feminist capitalism that very much complement Bateman's own economic analysis. This was a missed opportunity.

[Veronica 🌱]

Saggio dalla struttura sbilanciata: buon lavoro di introduzione ed esposizione delle premesse, ma la tesi dell’autrice sembra non giungere mai a conclusione, con il risultato che si arriva all’ultima pagina senza comprendere a fondo le sue intenzioni (se non quelle poche che descrive sin dalle prime pagine).
Interessante l’excursus storico, ma talvolta poco preciso anche per quanto riguarda la cura delle fonti e della bibliografia.
Peccato perché il tema era interessante (nonostante io non condivida molte argomentazioni) ma è stato approcciato in modo poco equilibrato e incompleto.

[Eileen Sheats · Rating 4 out of 5]

as much as victoria bateman is a total weirdo, i thought this book was very well written, especially the portion that spoke to the history of the economy as it relates to gender - how technological advances favored people with various builds for specific tasks and how that has changed over time. i would definitely recommend this book to people who are interested in economics and are looking for an edgier take, and it is definitely accessible to those who are not experts in the topic.