Knowledge Share Description
Join Silvia Federici as she explores the historical conditions under which capitalism arose, focusing on the transatlantic slave trade, European colonization, and the violent dispossession of land and resources—highlighting how these processes reshaped social, economic, and ecological life. Participants will examine how these transformations affected the commons and established social hierarchies that continue to shape race, gender, and class relations today.
Federici will also discuss how the enclosure of the commons and the exploitation of reproductive and unpaid labor—particularly that of women—laid the foundation for modern wage labor, connecting historical dispossession to contemporary economic systems. This session invites reflection on the ongoing struggles over communal resources, labor, and social justice, and on the possibilities for reclaiming and reimagining the commons.
Date: Sunday January 25, 2026
Time: 3:00pm – 5:00PM EST
Cost: FREE for Living Library hbc members | Sliding Scale $45, $65, $90 for Non-members
We will explore:
the transition from feudalism to capitalism, focusing on communal land relations, subsistence, and the shift toward wage dependence.
how the transatlantic slave trade and European colonization enabled capitalist expansion, transforming land, labor, and global economies.
enclosure and destruction of the commons as a central condition for capitalism’s emergence.
the construction of social hierarchies rooted in race, gender, and class through slavery, colonization, and land dispossession.
how wage labor was produced through separation from shared resources, and how this history shapes labor relations today.
capitalism’s structural dependence on unpaid, reproductive, and devalued labor, especially work historically assigned outside the wage.
the present-day implications of these histories, including inequality, labor exploitation, and struggles over communal resources.
frameworks for reclaiming and reimagining the commons today, linking historical analysis to contemporary movements for land, labor, and collective autonomy.
Who this Knowledge Share is For
Students studying the historical origins of capitalism, labor, and enclosure
Organizers and movement builders working in feminist and anti-colonial traditions
Community members engaged in struggles to defend land and shared resources
People interested in the politics, history, and future of the commons
Those seeking to understand how race, gender, and class hierarchies were shaped through colonization and slavery
Anyone exploring alternatives to wage dependence, extractive economies, and privatization
Collectives and care-based practitioners invested in ecological and land-defense frameworks
Cost
$45 - low income
$65 - standard
$90 - pay-it-forward (if you have financial abundance, this is our pay-it-forward option to fund our full tuition scholarships)
For more information on sliding scale please check out this amazing work!
The zoom link will be sent upon registration. Recording will be available for 30 days.
Please apply here for a scholarship.
or access this knowledge share for free by enrolling as a member of the Living Library
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Accessibility Information
Virtual Gathering. This means you can join from anywhere in the world.
*ASR (automated) captioning provided
The knowledge share zoom link will be sent out immediately upon purchase, along with any other necessary information.
Sunday January 25, 2026
3:00pm - 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time
Class will be recorded and available for 30 days.
Facilitator
Silvia Federici is a feminist activist, writer, and a teacher. In 1972 she was one of the cofounders of the International Feminist Collective, the organization that launched the Wages For Housework campaign internationally. In the 1990s, after a period of teaching and research in Nigeria, she was active in the anti-globalization movement and the U.S. anti–death penalty movement. She is one of the co-founders of the Committee for Academic Freedom in Africa, an organization dedicated to generating support for the struggles of students and teachers in Africa against the structural adjustment of African economies and educational systems. From 1987 to 2005 she taught international studies, women studies, and political philosophy courses at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY. All through these years she has written books and essays on philosophy and feminist theory, women’s history, education and culture, and more recently the worldwide struggle against capitalist globalization and for a feminist reconstruction of the commons.