Woman in Political Evolution

"Woman in Political Evolution" by Joseph McCabe is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The book examines the evolving status and role of women throughout human history, specifically how their subordination has interacted with the rise and fall of empires. It seeks to understand the underlying principles of these historical patterns and how they relate to contemporary feminist movements. At the start, McCabe outlines his aims, which include providing a cohesive narrative regarding the historical treatment of women and addressing concerns about their political agitation amidst turbulent societal changes. He discusses the historical notion that the subordination of women is a necessary price for empires and critiques this assumption by proposing that women's demands for equality grow as civilization progresses. McCabe emphasizes the need for a panoramic view of history to discern the real principles guiding the evolution of women's roles, positioning their struggles as integral to the advancement of moral and social justice throughout civilizations. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Joseph Martin McCabe was an English writer and speaker on freethought, after having been a Roman Catholic priest earlier in his life. He was "one of the great mouthpieces of freethought in England". Becoming a critic of the Catholic Church, McCabe joined groups such as the Rationalist Association and the National Secular Society. He criticised Christianity from a rationalist perspective, but also was involved in the South Place Ethical Society which grew out of dissenting Protestantism and was a precursor of modern secular humanism.