Toward a Feminist Theory of the State

Rating:
Summary: a poetic, important, and terrible book
Review: MacKinnon writes with smoothe, poetic prose, that disguises her petulant and arrogantly low estimation of the average women. The logical flaws only start there. The book is deeply myopic in its interpretation of history, just as Marx's work (MacKinnon's ideal) was. I recommend it only because of the woefully influential effect it is having on the U.S. judicial system - know thine enemy!

Rating:
Summary: Basic assumptions suspect
Review: Mackinnon's more theoretical discussions are based on Marxism and Freudianism. She doesn't really bother to offer any sort of "Epistemology of Method" or "Prolegamena," so the many philosophical issues that surround her approach are simply left hanging. This raises serious concerns in light of very critical, devastating attacks on both Marx and Freud over the last 10 years or so. Marx's economic and metaphysical theories, while all the rage among certain quarters in the Humanities, are embarassingly simple-minded and reductivist as anyone can determine who has actually spent a good time reading him. Freud, thanks to Patricia Churchland's excellent book, has finally been shown to be the pseudo-scientist quack most reasonable people always knew him to be. As such, MacKinnon's book is based on two thinkers whose theories have been completely discredited and dismissed. What does this say, then, for her work? If you want a serious, philosophically substantial work on modern political theory, read Habermas, Rawls, Nozick, Onora O'Neill, etc --

Rating:
Summary: Foundational Work
Review: MacKinnon's most noteworthy contribution to jurisprudential thought has been to point out the patriarchal assumptions of the U.S. Constitution, in light of modern feminist theory. In Towards a Feminist Theory..., MacKinnon writes an almost Foucaultian analysis of current constitutional jurisprudence -- the post-modern assessment of individual thought censorship as perpetrated by the male-dominated forum of political discourse is prevalent in many of her works but particularly, in this one.

She is a compelling and dramatic writer and while her arguments run the gamut -- from the distastefully provocative to rigorously logical to total raving rants, it is impossible to dismiss her entirely. I recommend that those interested in her writings read the law review articles she has written on similar issues. It should be taken with the grain of salt, however, that her biases against men in general are profound and even disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: Foundational Work
Review: MacKinnon's work on social constructionist radical feminist is the most eloquent, powerful, persuasive articulation of the field to date. "Postmodernism" could learn a lot by looking back to MacKinnon and REALLY understanding what she has to say instead of dismissing her work as 'essentialist.' MacKinnon continues to be a brilliant, important voice in feminism despite its energies being tapped by unfortunate new movements in academic that have distracted young scholars' attention. A Must Read.

Rating:
Summary: She's completely whacked
Review: To call this an academic exercise is absurd. It's just political polemic. In a more intellectually honest age she would have no academic position from which to preach. She's a patron saint of intolerance.