Feminism and Anti-feminism in Early Economic Thought

This path breaking book - the first of its kind - critically evaluates the place of women in the development of the neoclassical school of economics. It traces the origin of the school's approach to women and exposes the bias in methodology and discourse which has characterized the school's treatment of women and their place in the capitalist economy.

The roots of women's invisibility are sought first in the writings of Adam Smith. The work of John Stuart Mill subsequently allows a study of an isolated attempt to integrate a feminist awareness into economic theory. The limits in Mill's writings are contrasted to the more radical ideas of his feminist contemporaries: Harriet Taylor and Barbara Bodichon. The author then examines the debate on equal pay for men and women which took place between 1890 and 1925. In conclusion she critically evaluates the work of Marshall and Pigou.

This book by the late Michele Pujol makes a major contribution both to the history of economic thought and to women's history by exposing the ideological position which informs neoclassical theorizing on women and the contradictions this position creates within the paradigm.