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Historical background
The Subsistence Perspective (or subsistence theory) is a theoretical approach which was developed by Maria Mies, Claudia von Werlhof and Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen in the mid-1970s. The approach is sometimes referred to as “Bielefelder Ansatz” (Engl.: Bielefeld approach) as it was developed at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Bielefeld. With the development of the subsistence perspective, the founders introduced German women's studies at Bielefeld University and are thus pioneers of women's studies in Germany. It was developed based on years of research and experience in the field of development policy and peasant studies in different countries of the Global South: India, Costa Rica, San Salvador, Venezuela and Mexico (Mies, Bennholdt-Thomsen,p.10). Maria Mies cites a key inspiration for the Subsistence Perspective was the work of Rosa Luxemburg on imperialism. A series of conferences were held in the 1970s and 80s on the emerging concept of the subsistence perspective and its relation to the feminist and anti-capitalist movements. The theory is part of branch of feminism often referred to as materialist ecofeminism. In 1999 Maria Mies and Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen wrote The Subsistence Perspective: Beyond the Globalised Economy which documented much of the research done in this field.

Definition
The term "subsistence" comes from the Latin "subsistenzia" and means "to endure" or "to exist by oneself." It is most often used in the sense of securing livelihood or the material means of existence hence food, water, protection against cold and heat, care and conviviality. Societies in subsistence economies live self-sufficiently as their production is geared to meet communities basic needs rather than to make a surplus and achieve economic growth. The foundation of the subsistence perspective is (economic) self-sufficiency, however it goes beyond the economy and includes every aspect of life (Mies, Bennholdt-Thomsen). It can be understood as an “approach to life”, “an access to understanding the world” or worldview.

An essential aspect of subsistence perspective is that it is based on securing one's livelihood and not on economic or capital growth:

"Subsistence production or life production includes all work that is expended in the creation, re-creation and maintenance of immediate life and which has no other purpose. Subsistence production stands in contrast to commodity and surplus value production. For subsistence production the aim is 'life', for commodity production it is ‘money’, which 'produces' ever more money, or the accumulation of capital. For this mode of production life is, so to speak, only a coincidental side-effect" (Bennholdt-Thomsen/Mies 1997: 20). Thus, subsistence stands in stark contrast to capitalist commodity production which is why subsistence is often associated with poverty and often undesirable in industrial/modern societies.

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