The lonely woman of faith under late capitalism; or, Jewish feminism in marxist perspective

It is difficult to decide whether to characterize the current condition of Jewish philosophy generally as one that is optimal or one that is an instance of Brodskyian boredom.¹ In either case, the field seems to be marked by complete agnosticism as to what to expect of itself, not to mention what is to be expected of theology or God; indecision as to whether it is or is not possible to "stand outside" one's own identity in order to contemplate it; and the occasional tone of moral indignation notwithstanding, no discernible concern with the extreme needs of populations who do not share in the economic well-being of American academia.² It seems to me that while it is possible that we may thus inadvertently have arrived at a Rawlsian "original position" from which to devise new philosophical principles, an "unencumbered self" that is the better suited to undertaking new commitments and projects in a new, globalized society, what we are really experiencing is an abandonment of the project of philosophy altogether. In my opinion, this would be a bad thing. And so the general view of this paper will be one of nostalgia for Western Marxism, understood in a particular way, in lieu of the "nomadic " mood of much recent writing in Jewish feminist thought, especially that which has joined in postmodern ambitions.³.