The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

A critique of the Victorian nuclear family. It argues that the traditional monogamous household was in fact a recent construct, closely bound up with capitalist societies. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884), was a provocative and profoundly influential critique of the Victorian nuclear family. Engels argued that the traditional monogamous household was in fact a recent construct, closely bound up with capitalist societies. Under this patriarchal system, women were servants and, effectively, prostitutes. Only Communism would herald the dawn of communal living and a new sexual freedom and, in turn, the role of the state would become superfluous.

• | Author: Friedrich Engels
• | Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Apr 29, 2010
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language: eng
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780141191119
• | ISBN-10: 0141191112