Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism. Moving from the peasant revolts of the late Middle Ages to the witch-hunts and the rise of mechanical philosophy, Federici investigates the capitalist rationalization of social reproduction.

She shows how the battle against the rebel body and the conflict between body and mind are essential conditions for the development of labor power and self-ownership, two central principles of modern social organization.

First published in 1982, this pioneering work traces the transformation of women's work into wage labor in the United States, identifying the social, economic, and ideological forces that have shaped our expectations of what women do.

Basing her observations upon the personal experience of individual American women set against the backdrop of American society, Alice Kessler-Harris examines the effects of class, ethnic and racial patterns, changing perceptions of wage work for women, and the relationship between wage-earning and family roles.

In the 20th Anniversary Edition of this landmark book, the author has updated the original and written a new Afterword.