Kurt Hodges Post 1

Liberal feminism has a lot of major problems that the readings pointed out, and they fall in line largely with the problems of Liberalism in general. By far the largest problem with Liberalism from a feminist standpoint is that it views all people as atomistic individuals outside of their relationships and that through this, individuals are capable of acting in their own rational self-interest. This view completely ignores, however, the relational nature of human life. In reality, all decisions made by individuals are made in specific circumstances. This means that first of all, there is no such thing as atomistic individuals in the real world, and that rational action is always limited by circumstance. Liberal feminism, by focusing on the individual and individual rights, completely ignores the relational component of human life. This leads to continued problems such as the continued tension between women raising a family or having a career. Women are incapable of making a satisfactory rational choice because doing so is to ignore circumstance and the fact that the women’s choice will directly impact those around her, and is conversely impacted by those around her. A more concrete theory that better reflects reality would need to take this aspect of life and decision making into account in order to create real options and actual free choice.