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"Presumably, however," I interjected, "a sex-typed biological form is only one of the arbitrary standards that the false self uses as a basis for organizing the interactions of people in ways which are advantageous to itself and disadvantageous to others. For example, race, class, religion, language, nationality, values, ethnicity, political views, physical appearance, beliefs, intellectual abilities and talents, or lack thereof, could all be used as standards, individually or in various combinations, for skewing and delimiting the way in which masculine and feminine principles will be given expression in our lives."

Nodding her head in agreement, Jennifer said: "Before feminism came along, there were many, many people, both women and men, who, because of one prejudice or another, were subject to all manner of exploitation, abuse, injustice, cruelty, persecution and oppression. After feminism came along, there were, and continue to be, many, many people, both men and women, who, as a result of various kinds of prejudice, still are being treated with gross inhumanity.

"This does not mean, of course, that feminism has been ineffective. After all, there have been some women who have enjoyed substantial benefits as a result of the activities of the feminist movement. In addition, many other women have seen moderate kinds of improvement come into their lives as a result of feminist achievements.

"Nonetheless, in various ways, the problems facing humanity transcend much of feminist theory and activity. For one thing, we live in a very finite world.

"A number of realities follow from finiteness. Moreover, these realities constitute a severe challenge not only to feminism, but to any number of systems of understanding and interpretation.

"For example, there simply are not enough resources to go around to ensure that everyone will be able to have a life of even moderate affluence. There is not enough money. There are not enough long-term jobs at livable wages and with even minimum benefits. There is too little food getting to too many people. There are not enough doctors, hospitals, lawyers, teachers and schools to allow everyone to be treated with equality and justice, even if those who have, were inclined to share, that, for the most part, they are not.

"Furthermore, not everyone can be a boss or a chairman of the board or an elected official or a teacher or an entrepreneur. The character of the world in which we live is such that only a small group of people, an elite, can occupy the limited positions of authority, power, control, leadership and the 'good' life.

"So, what do we do about the rest of the people? What do we do about the roughly 80- 85% of humanity who are not, nor will they ever have the opportunity to be, part of the privileged elite. Should they be treated as equals, but in a lesser way?"

"There are," I observed, "some middle-class and upper-class people who argue that some form of propertied individualism is the necessary foundation for freedom and equality. These people believe both freedom and equality presuppose having the right to own, control, and dispose of property, especially land.

"One could enter into an endless debate about the nature and validity of the necessity that supposedly links freedom and equality to individual ownership of property. One also could enter into an extended discussion about just what kind of freedom and equality are tied to propertied individualism and about whether or not there might be other kinds of freedom and equality that are more viable and more valuable than the kind which allegedly issues forth from propertied individualism.

"However, even if one were able to arrive at a position concerning these issues that satisfied most people's concerns and questions, one still needs to show how to ensure that everyone will have the opportunity to own, control and dispose of property to the same extent as everyone else. Moreover, even if one could discover a way of ensuring that everyone will have an equal opportunity to realize the condition of propertied individualism, the whole exercise becomes academic since, as you have pointed out, Jennifer, there simply are not enough resources or property to go around.

"People," I suggested, "who are preoccupied with careers as some sort of power broker, executive, professional, or entrepreneur have very little insight into, or empathy with, the lives of those people, whether women or men, who merely are trying to avoid poverty, hunger, homelessness, or unhealthy and unsafe living conditions. This is especially the case when the former group of 'haves' play a largely, zero-sum game with the latter group of 'have nots' in which someone gains, almost invariably the 'haves', only if someone else loses, almost invariably the 'have nots'."

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