login

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Published 18 November 2021
Friedrich Engels, Ernest Untermann
Citations2,235

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Economics, Econometrics and Finance