Column: Several fatal flaws mar the feminist movement
Perspectives on Feminism
Published: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Updated: Friday, March 2, 2012 16:03
 "Photo: The Maroon")
The Maroon
Walter Block On the Record
It seems that everyone and his uncle (Would it be more politically correct to say "aunt" here, instead? Yes. Tough.) are now feminists. This, alone, would constitute good reason if not to reject this stance outright, then at least to be highly suspicious of it. Most people — how shall I say this delicately — have an IQ akin to comfortable room temperature. If they favor something — anything — it is probably immoral, fallacious and wrong-headed. In the case of feminism, this is true in spades.
Let us start off with a minor annoyance foisted upon us by these harridans: their attack on the English language. It is no longer allowed in polite society to refer to a woman as "Miss" or "Mrs." Now, it would appear, we are all required to utilize the horrid word "Ms." But the first two convey important information: marital status. Why should we jettison knowledge about a woman's status in this regard just to satisfy a bunch of loud-mouthed people? And don't even get me started on "he or she," "she and he," "she" alone, or "s/he." Normal people can no longer read the language without constantly having their noses thrust into this sort of imbecility.
Now for some more serious concerns.
Feminists are typically socialists, communists, liberals or, ugh, "progressives." This is pretty downright despicable since these attacks on economic freedom create the very poverty against which they presume to inveigh. Have we learned nothing from the natural experiments of East and West Germany? North and South Korea? Why do these people want to condemn us to lives of penury?
They learn nothing from our history, which bears eloquent testimony to the fact that socialism simply does not work. Socialism ruins whatever it touches, not only abroad, but domestically too, as in the cases of socialized medicine, the welfare system (which breaks up families) and social "security" (which reduces intergenerational ties). Feminists are invincibly ignorant, too, regarding the economic functioning of minimum wage laws, unionism, rent control, tariffs, taxes, central planning, etc.
Feminists oppose arming women. When confronted with the scourge of rape and molestation, feminists respond by holding "Take Back the Night" marches, whining about how horrid these attacks are. Of course they are! But why not encourage young women to avail themselves of their Second Amendment rights to bear arms? The gun is the great equalizer. Face it: unarmed women are at a disadvantage vis-a-vis rapists, who are usually bigger, stronger and heavier than they are. With a pistol in their pocketbooks (sorry, I can't help my stereotyping; I relish it) they confront their attackers on an equal basis.
There is a wealth of empirical evidence, as well as common sense, attesting women known to be well armed are safer. Pistol and rifle target shooting is an Olympic event. Why don't universities have girls' (there I go again) teams in these sports? But wait: there is one benefit to "Take Back the Night" marches, and I do want to be fair: whenever rapists contemplate these events, they keel over in laughter. They are laughing so uproariously that at least during these times they are incapable of raping anyone.
In the view of most feminists, capitalism is to blame for the wage gap of some 25 to 30 percent. They claim that "sexism" is responsible for the fact that men earn more than women on average. Not at all. This is due in large part, instead, to the economic doctrine of alternative costs: whenever you do anything, you do it at the cost of not being able to do something else as well as you otherwise might have been able to do. Women bear a disproportionate share of housework. Stipulating that they are otherwise equally productive to men, this alone would account for a large share of the so-called wage "gap."
Feminists will undoubtedly interpret the foregoing as evidence that I hate women. Nonsense. Some of my best friends are women. I admire many women. I do not at all mean to put down the distaff side; very much the opposite. I wish to rid our better halves of this virus that inflicts them: feminism.
Walter Block is an economics professor. He can be reached at wblock@loyno.edu
On the Record is a weekly column open to any member of Loyola's faculty and staff. Those interested in contributing can contact letter@loyno.edu
76 comments
That being said, the one thing block misses is that while being a "feminist" by his standards may be detrimental to society, being a chauvinist isn't much better. The segment on rape is just flat out retarded (for lack of a better word), just like one of his most popular arguments that privatizing roads would lead to people not driving drunk. Illogical and completely unfounded.While pompous and arrogant in some senses, however, this professor has proved himself to be a worthwhile investment. If you ever have the opportunity to take a Block class, I would highly recommend it. If anything, he really sharpens your debate skills, and immerses you into a world full of different outlooks and opinions such as this article.
-25% of women will be raped or sexually assaulted within their lifetime.
-44% of these victims are under the age of 18 (and could not buy a gun even if they were interested).
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
-2/3 of perpetrators are known by the victim
THEREFORE, your argument that women should carry guns to deter rape only suggests that women should kill not only strangers, but acquaintances, friends, boyfriends, and husbands.If men are so much stronger than women (as you point out), then those men can easily take that gun away from the woman holding it, allowing them not only to rape but to murder (how many women would really want to bring a gun to the table in that situation?) On the note that "Take Back the Night" marches are ineffective, you are not considering the solidarity that comes to survivors in such a safe and open group of people. You have clearly never been to the open speaker section that follows the march to listen to all of the incredible and strong people who speak about their victimization and provide hope to others who have yet to deal with the physical and psychological damage that rape induces.You clearly know how to research, I suggest you gather some quantitative and qualitative data surrounding the issue of rape.
It's a stupid column, not well written, BUT BLOCK ISN'T SERIOUS.
"Nonsense. Some of my best friends are women."
That should have tipped all of you off.ACTUALLY THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG... HE IS SERIOUS.
The fact that he's decided not to debate a "feminist" reveals his true cowardice.
is a member of the 
