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Exchange and Deception: A Feminist Perspective pp 147–163Cite as

Symmetry in Feminist Economics

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Abstract

This paper takes the strains of symmetry as the starting point for an exploration of different stages in feminist economics. The first stage involves symmetry among men and women. The second stage concerns the breaking down of the privileged position of male economists over female ones. The third stage moves to the level of male and female analysts of economics. The paper connects these stages with efforts to establish symmetry in economics in general and macroeconomics in particular. These endeavors encounter serious obstacles that may be removed with the help of feminist economics. Therefore, the paper argues, there are not only ontological and epistemological reasons for seeking symmetry, but also strategic and political ones.

An outline of this paper was presented to a meeting of the Feministisch Economisch Netwerk Nederland and I thank the participants, and in particular the organizer, Edith Kuiper, for valuable feedback. A first draft of this paper was presented to the conference Women in the Exchange Society: (Self-)Deception and Other Imponderables and I am very grateful for the suggestions I received from the participants, especially the two organizers, Caroline Gerschlager and Monika Mokre. The subsequent revision of the paper has greatly benefited from the comments of Caroline Gerschlager and Philip Mirowski.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Notre Dame, USA

    Esther-Mirjam Sent

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  1. Esther-Mirjam Sent
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  1. Institute of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Austria

    Caroline Gerschlager

  2. ICE, Research Unit for Institutional Change and European Integration, Austrian Academy of Science, Vienna, Austria

    Monika Mokre

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Sent, EM. (2002). Symmetry in Feminist Economics. In: Gerschlager, C., Mokre, M. (eds) Exchange and Deception: A Feminist Perspective. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3470-6_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3470-6_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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