Marxist view of the Family

“The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State “Frederick Engels 1884

Engels

Engels took an evolutionary view of the family.

As the mode of production changed through history so did the family

Primitive Communism At the start of human development

Engels said there was a stage of primitive communism. Property was owned collectively and there was no private family.

This was an era of sexual freedom and promiscuity. No rules limited sexual relationships. Society itself was the family.

The Family and Private Property With the advent of private property came

the need for restrictions on sexual activity. These increased in time moving through

stages until finally we arrived at the monogamous nuclear family model of modern society

Engel’s claimed that the nuclear family fulfils certain requirements of capitalism

Capitalism and the Family Capitalism requires monogamous

marriage to solve the problem of property inheritance.

Men had to be certain of who were their heirs and that they were legitimate heirs.

Men therefore needed to control women through the monogamous family.

Eli Zaratsky – how the family helps perpetuate capitalism

Eli Zaratsky claims that society creates the “illusion” that family private life in separate from the economy.

Zaratsky claims that the family cushions workers from the brutal realities of capitalism and in this way helps perpetuate capitalism.

Capitalism is also “propped up” by the domestic labour of housewives who reproduce the future labour force

The family is also an important consumer of the products of capitalism

Zaratsky therefore concludes that the family is an institution that is in reality very closely linked to the economy and the perpetuation of capitalism