ABSTRACT OF PAPER
Title: The debate on the “feminine question” in the Spanish Economist School (1850-1900).
Author: MARTINEZ-RODRIGUEZ SUSANA
Very few studies have been developed in Spain that address the history of economic thought from a feminist perspective. The late appearance of feminism movement, a low literacy rate and scant industrialization are all factors explaining the lack of works on economic topics written by women during the nineteenth century. But did the male economists of the day studies about the new roll of women in the society and economy? There is not any line of research study about this question in Spain. I propose to analyze the writings of Spanish Economist School - a group of liberal economist from the second half of 19th century - related with the so-called ‘feminine question’. Find some of these of these writings has been a tough part of the research. The Spanish Economist School owes itself to a combination of facts that made it especially interested: (1) It was the first time that in Spain there was a numerous number of economists, sharing the same ideology (liberalism) and with social power. All of them were professors, relevant politicians, owners of journals or intellectual associations. Between 1840 and 1880 the Liberal Economic Thought was dominant in the intellectual Spanish sphere. Their main influence was the French (Liberal) Economist School. Actually the Spaniards reproduced certain number of the polemics that had been had between their French counterparts. (2) Some members of the Economic School were especially sensible to questions like increasing the living standards of the working class, or spreading the literacy levels of the population. (3) Also some of them participated in activities favoring women’s education. After reviewing some their publications I found arguments to say that in Spain, even when the feminist movement was weak, there were a group of economists interested in the gender question. Here are some of the results that I have found for now: (1) There was a very earlier interest in the Spanish Liberal Economist in studying the economic value of women as productive and reproductive agents. And it was also some previous idea in the Enlightenment thinkers. (2) The first debate about women work appeared in a pre-industrial context. The labor of women in modern industries was analyzing not under an economic point view, but under their maternity roll. As also has happened in another context, this group of intellectual made some ideological assumptions that later they included in their judgments about the social and economic women’s roll. (3) The debate about women question was not a unique debate. Depending on the social class of the woman, the topic was one or another. The working question illiteracy was focus on the working class women. And the question about the education was an exclusive question of the middle class. In other works, there is a “women question” (for studying) in the Spanish History of Economic Thought, and this paper will be a first approach to it.
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