Was human society always overseen by a military and police force?
Was wealth and the means of producing more wealth always the private possession of individuals or a small section of society?
Were women always at the bottom of society, treated primarily as sex objects and machines for child-bearing and child-raising?

And is this humanity's destiny?
In this book published in 1884, Fredrich Engels answers the above questions in the negative. His book is based on anthropological data available in his day from societies around the globe. New discoveries since have confirmed his conclusions and the book is remarkably relevant today.

Are the father-centered family, private property, and the state necessary and inevitable part of all human societies?
Frederick Engels, coworker of Karl Marx, says no. Engels demonstrates that these three institutions arose in the fairly recent history of the human race, as a way to establish the rule of the many over the few. And, conversley, when these institutions are an obstacle to human progress, they can be dismantled.
Although this book was written about 125 years ago, the subject matter and his point of view sound surprisingly modern. Evelyn Reed, a Marxist anthropologist, writes a 1972 introduction that updates the original work from the point of view of 20th century anthropology debates abd the rise of modern women's movement. An additional short article by Engels, "The part played by labor in the transition from ape to man" is a lively piece that could be part of today's debates on human origin with almost no hint of its vintage (except maybe for his use of the term "man", instead of gender-neutral "humanity").

This is a serious, scientific and materialist analysis of development and change in human society and its institutions. Frederick Engels, who along with Karl Marx was one of the central founders of the modern communist movement, wrote this book in the late 1800s based on the latest developments in the then-new science of anthropology. Studying it can help us understand society and be better prepared to organize and work to change it.

Engels takes up the rise of the state and of the family and the oppression of women as early societies became more productive, making possible the division of groups of human beings into those who produce and those who live off them, and the need of the exploiters to perpetuate this state of affairs.

The Pathfinder Press edition also has a valuable introduction by Evelyn Reed, long-time socialist activist and author of works including "Woman's Evolution," "Sexism and Science," "Cosmetics, Fashion and the Exploitation of Women," and "Problems of Women's Liberation."

One of the most common arguments used against progressive and revolutionary social movements is that "you can't change human nature." This is particularly the case when the subject of male and female roles comes up. Men are supposedly bound by their genetic makeup to be the stronger, dominant sex. Women are allegedly destined by biology to be the weaker sex. If you are looking for evidence against this argument, look no further. Evelyn Reed, who was a feminist, socialist and anthropologist, provides a mountain of evidence about early human societies, which shows that, without a doubt, women have not always been subordinate to men. In painstaking, shocking and sometimes even humorous detail, she reconstructs the prehistoric matriarchal societies that spanned the globe thousands of years ago. She draws on myths, anthropological studies of modern-day "primitive" peoples, and even Greek dramas to show that it took a long and bloody period of evolution for the "father-family" to develop and for women to become subordinated to men. I particularly like her chapter on women's "productive record," which shows that women, because of their cooperative social organization, invented human civilization, including farming, industry and even the use of fire.

I knew Evelyn Reed while she was writing this book. She took years, she examined everything published on the subject, she questioned what she had thought, and she corresponded with scientists and activists all over the world. This book is not just the political opinions of a veteran revolutionist and a feminist activist for decades, but a serious work of science. Most of the history of humanity, patriarchy did not rule. Relations between men and women and children were different. This history is needed so we can see how we can make changes that can fundamentally improve the relations between women and men, through socialist revolution and the ending of this society's sexism.

Reed's book is essential reading for anyone, particularly women, looking to gain a greater understanding of the origin or women's oppression. Reed was a lifelong student of anthropology and her scientific and materialist explanation of the pivotal role women have played in the development of humanity are necessary tools for anyone seeking to change the status of women for the better. The book is imbued with this. Though a serious work of scholorship, it is foremost a book for fighters. It stands along side Frederick Engel's, "Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" in this regard.

Reed traces the development of human societies, with particular attention to the role of women, from the early matriarchal clans of hunters and gatherers, to the growth of agriculture, to the rise of the first states and beyond. Her defense of the matriarchal nature of the early clans devastates the many defenders of the idea that society was always patriarchal and women are doomed to being the second sex. It also lays waste the idea that men are "by nature" oppressors of women. It is a welcome antidote to the many "spiritual" works on women as well as the psuedo scientific defenders of women's oppression.

The book is important for any student of human history. Among it's particular contributions:The explanation of the incest taboos as originating in taboos on cannibalism; the role of women in the development of agriculture; the significance of human sacrifice and why it ended (this section is particularly useful for students of Meso-American history); the evolution of lineage and kinship groupings prior to and after the formation of the first city states; the role of the state and private property in cementing the dominance of men and the patriarchy, etc. Her defense of both the evolutionary and comparative methods of anthropology, and her consistant materialism make the book a part of an important ongoing debate in scientific circles. A debate which is interesting to any reader looking for an explanation of why society is organized the way it is.

The book is a serious scientific work and takes work to read, though it is fascinating work. Her other books, "Problems of Women's Liberation" and "Sexism and Science" are useful introductions to some of the concepts explored here.

Women's Evolution is necessary reading for any student of anthropology. It is ignored by most anthropologists who have made their careers as defenders of the status quo and for the same reasons have ignored Engels, Lewis Henry Morgan, Bachofen and others. Though they often polemicize against them and their ideas. Reed wrote the book as a fighter for women's rights and an anti-capitalist, the work is dedicated to young feminists.

Sexism and Science author Evelyn Reed, writing her Introduction in November, 1977, explains that this book is as important as and similar in purpose to the books written to reveal the racism that infiltrated supposedly scientific researchers in biology, genetics, zoology, sociology, and anthropology. As a lifelong student of anthropology, Reed has no problem exposing many authors as unscientific and sexist by quoting and then destroying their main arguments. Among these are Lionel Tiger, author of Men In Groups, Robert Ardrey, author of The Territorial Imperative, Konrad Lorenz who wrote On Aggression, and Desmond Morris, writer of aked Ape. She reserved a whole chapter for the famed Harvard zoologist Edward O. Wilson and has a field day describing his version of 'social Darwinism'--the erroneous view that human societies are simply varieties of animal societies and human nature is identical with animal nature. Women surrounded today by these same backward ideas will love this book. for its confident and well-researched content. The ardent animal lovers of today also should read this small, powerful book for our differences and similarities are intriguing in the able hands of this Marxist-feminist author.

This book by Evelyn Reed sweeps away the sexist, unscientific views that have prevailed among academics for decades. When she wrote these articles twenty-five years ago, Reed warned that this trend in anthropology would be used to blunt the lessons of the women's liberation movement and submerge our thinking about the future of humanity in a morass of pessimism and liberal guilt. "Animal Rights" is the perfect example of what Reed was warning about. If you look at the way humanity created itself out of the primates, you get a liberating respect for what we can accomplish. If you look at the tremendous accomplishments of the long period of female dominance (without romanticizing it) you are in a position to refute the idea that women will always suffer domination. If humanity is to avoid capitalism's descent into barbarism (and we will), women will once again play the leading role.

This is a fascinating collection of articles by Evelyn Reed, a long-time socialist activist and Marxist writer, author of Woman's Evolution and other works. She tackles questions of the evolution of human beings and human society out of earlier animal species; emphasizing things that make humans different, including tool-making, intellectual capacity and the ability to organize in broad social groups to be able to transform nature to meet the needs of human beings. Reed also analyzes the divisions of society into classes of producers and exploiters, the emergence of patriarchal society from earlier matriarchal forms, and the deep-seated roots of woman's oppression today.
"Sexism and Science" polemicizes extensively on facts and methodology with academics whose views on anthropology and biology are warped by the prejudices of modern capitalist society. Among those are Desmond Morris, author of "The Naked Ape," Edward O. Wilson, author of "Sociobiology," and the prominent anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss.
Want to understand better the roots of poverty, racism, and sexism today and figure out a way forward for humanity? You'll find the issues raised, the facts presented and the materialist methodology Reed employs are extremely useful.

Problems Of Women's Liberation: A Marxist Approach by Evelyn Reed looks at why women have been oppressed throughout recorded history, and why opponents to women's rights are so implacably entrenched and determined. From examining the myth of female inferiority; to ways women as a whole can regain control of their destiny; to how cosmetics and fashions exploit women, Problems Of Women's Liberation is a sharp-eyed and stringently worded wake-up call to the problems of the past and how they have shaped present gender discriminations. A very strongly recommended addition to Women's Studies reading lists and Women's History collections, Problems Of Women's Liberation also offers concrete hope for a more egalitarian future.

My two favorite sections of this book are the introduction by Mary-Alice Waters and the essay by Evelyn Reed, "The Woman Question and the Marxist Method." In the intro, Waters explains 1) how the status of women in the US has changed since WWII; 2) what the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s accomplished; and 3) a scientific explanation for why this powerful and inspiring movement declined. It is the definitive answer to Susan Faludi's thesis in Backlash, written 8 years before Faludi's book appeared! For that alone, this book is worth buying and reading and studying and discussing with others.
Reed's essay sums up the political debate at the center of the book (see other reviewers' summaries of this) and, like Waters, launches a factual, scientific examination of the roots of the oppression of women and how our concepts of beauty, fashion, and cosmetics are tied to the rule of a handful of capitalists over the majority who toil for a living. A must for women (and men) who want to understand why sexism exists in our society and how to fight it.

A fascinating and instructive collection, this is the written record of a debate carried out in the pages of the socialist newsweekly, the Militant, in the mid-1950s.

You get a serious look at the roots of the oppression of women in capitalist society, including the powerful psychological pressure exerted through mass media, marketing, and bosses to compel women to "need"--and hence buy-- the "right" clothes, cosmetics, and so-called beauty treatments. The discussion takes up the changing relations between men and women as human society has evolved from earliest times to today's class-divided society, debunks the notion of an eternal standard of beauty, and much more.

It's also a wonderful example of how to analyze and understand political and social questions from the standpoint of the interests of working people and not succumb to the prejudices and fetishes of capitalist society. You see how political activists can thrash out sharp differences over tough questions in the framework of an open exchange of views.

An extensive introduction covers the impact of the capitalist crisis of the 1980s on women and the decline of the mass women's rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

This entertaining and thought-provoking book had a curious beginning - a 1954 exchange of news articles and letters to the editor in the socialist newsweekly the Militant. The original article joked about the declining use of cosmetics and subsequent problems of the cosmetics industry. A reader's reaction quickly brought a discussion of the role of women in society, their increasing participation in the workforce, and the source of the imaging of women in culture.
This dispute, which became a debate within the Socialist Workers Party, took place well before the rise of the 1960s women's liberation movement. It took place at a time generally regarded as one of bland social conformity. Obviously, social attitudes towards, and by, women were much more complex than met the eye. An introduction by Mary-Alice Waters puts the book in its modern-day context