Review Essay: Rethinking Gender Justice a Transnational Approach: Nancy Fraser: Fortunes of Feminism. From State Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis

Nancy Fraser, Loeb Professor in Philosophy and Politics at The New School for Social Research, New York, is a leading scholar in critical theory as well as in feminist and gender research. Fortunes of Feminism is a collection of Fraser’s work from 1985-2010. The 10 chapters have all been published in in Justice Interruptus; two articles have only appeared in French It is therefore great to have a collection of some of her best articles, but the question is what gender researchers can learn from this book? To me, the final chapter: ”Between Marketization and Social Protection: Resolving the Feminist Ambivalence” is one reason for feminists to be concerned about Fraser’s new theoretical and political approach. Here Fraser uses Karl Polanyi’s classical book: ’The Great Transformation’ (1944) as inspiration to rethink the character of the present political-economic crisis, social justice and the emancipatory potentials of feminism. The ambitious aim of the book is to contribute to feminism’s theoretical and political project in a globalized world. The title:’Fortunes of Feminism’, the prologue and the book’s structure as a drama in three acts all refer to Fraser’s interpretation of the evolution of the feminist movement and its ambivalences and potentials in the contemporary crisis.