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Communism Quote by Karl Marx

“The bourgeois sees in his wife a mere instrument of production. He hears that the instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion than that the lot of being common to all will likewise fall to the women. He has not even a suspicion that the…” quote by Karl Marx
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““The bourgeois sees in his wife a mere instrument of production. He hears that the instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion than that the lot of being common to all will likewise fall to the women. He has not even a suspicion that the real point is to do away with the status of women as mere instruments of production. For the rest, nothing is more ridiculous than the virtuous indignation of our bourgeois at the community of women which, they pretend, is to be openly and officially established by the Communists. The Communists have no need to introduce the community of women; it has existed almost from time immemorial. Our bourgeois, not content with having the wives and daughters of their proletarians at their disposal, not to speak of common prostitutes, take the greatest pleasure in seducing each other's wives. Bourgeois marriage is in reality a system of wives in common and thus, at the most, what the Communists might possibly be reproached with, is that they desire to introduce, in substitution for a hypocritically concealed, an openly legalised community of women. For the rest, it is self-evident that the abolition of the present system of production must bring with it the abolition of the community of women springing from that system, i.e., of prostitution both public and private.””

Karl Marx

About This Quote

Source Treat: The German Ideology, 1845

Marx critiques bourgeois view of women as tools of production, exposing how capitalist structures create a communal exploitation of women and prostitution.

In simple terms: Bourgeois treat women as property, leading to exploitation.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and challenge systemic gender exploitation.

Themes

gender capitalism exploitation marriage prostitution

Mood

critical analytical revolutionary

Type

political social philosophical

When to use this quote

  • labor movements
  • feminist activism
  • legal reform
  • education on consent

Key Concepts

Marxist theory gender relations social critique

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does capitalism shape gender roles?
  • What alternatives exist to communal exploitation?
A Different Perspective

Marx’s analysis may overlook individual agency within patriarchal structures.

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