Emerging economics scholar, Kate Bahn, points out...
The word "economy" comes from the Greek word oikos, which can be translated as "household." In the ancient world, the household was more than the nuclear family, it was the site of economic production.
This is blatant evidence that modern conceptions of economics/economy are incredibly limited and therefore limiting in any number of ways. In this case, women's work in the home wasn't counted as "real" or "worth it."
I've argued somewhat recently that Wendell Berry's work on economy is far more fruitful and equitable...
(H/T Ric Hudgens - @rdhudgens)
Early (US) census takers at the turn of the twentieth century were instructed not to consider women as employed if they were not earning at least a majority of the family’s income. Men were not subject to the same strict definition of employment. Because a lot of the work women did to earn money was done within their homes, it was not considered actual work unless it brought in money above a certain threshold.(Source: How Gender Changes Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century, The Nation)
The word "economy" comes from the Greek word oikos, which can be translated as "household." In the ancient world, the household was more than the nuclear family, it was the site of economic production.
This is blatant evidence that modern conceptions of economics/economy are incredibly limited and therefore limiting in any number of ways. In this case, women's work in the home wasn't counted as "real" or "worth it."
I've argued somewhat recently that Wendell Berry's work on economy is far more fruitful and equitable...
(H/T Ric Hudgens - @rdhudgens)
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