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Assignment 3 Michael Li

Before the privatization of land, rural communities included land reserved for communal activities. People could convene here without worry of another party’s interference. The open land system was eventually abolished and physical barriers divided land. This was the end of the communal area.

The privatization of land displaced many and gave rise to the system of production-for-market (Frederici, 2004: 83). Gone was the self-sustaining system of production-for-use. The methods of making a living shifted from providing for one’s self to exportation of the product. This gave rise to the wage system, which institutionalized a form of slavery (Frederici, 2004: 81).

The impact of this economic change treated women in ways not experienced by men. Women had lost their forum and space to meet with one another without interference of men. (Frederici, 2004: 80). They had fewer options to rely on when making a living. Where their counterparts could carry weapons into combat, or be seen as capable wageworkers, the role of women was boiled down reproduction. Women were not credited for their laborious work, that being replenishing the work force (Frederici, 2004: 83). What was held in high value was being able to produce, whereas to reproduce was not. This was one of the most significant ways women were degraded in the aftermath of land privatization.

Following this was the import of silver and gold from America. The European wage system allow for these two imports to regulate prices.

The means of production was taken away from the poor since land was privatized and work became compensated in wages. The wage collapse followed the importation of silver and gold from American and the resulting price regulation effects these two materials would have. Work hours increased and wages decreased. Food became scarce of producers would horde their products and food became the most desired materialistic thing (Frederici, 2004: 91).

The wages of women plummeted far below what they had for men (Frederici, 2004: 86). The poor could not sustain themselves and would starve. Desperation lead to food revolts, usually lead by women, in which businesses would be raided for their food (Frederici, 2004: 91). Prostitution increased dramatically during the wage collapse and the exploitation of women had reached a new way of degrading them.