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whiskerz's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A fascinating work that is flawed by the time it was written, as well as Engels' poor choice of using the peoples of the new world as a reliable blueprint for how European cultures were in the past.
As the first major book that rejects the notion that women were always subjugated (as far as I know), along with its arguments for women's liberation, it is definitely an important historical piece.
I'd like to read a more modern equivalent for this book, without all the guesswork.
And, a quote from it:
"In the great majority of cases today, at least in the possessing classes, the husband is obliged to
earn a living and support his family, and that in itself gives him a position of supremacy, without
any need for special legal titles and privileges. Within the family he is the bourgeois and the wife
represents the proletariat. In the industrial world, the specific character of the economic
oppression burdening the proletariat is visible in all its sharpness only when all special legal
privileges of the capitalist class have been abolished and complete legal equality of both classes
established. The democratic republic does not do away with the opposition of the two classes; on
the contrary, it provides the clear field on which the fight can be fought out. And in the same
way, the peculiar character of the supremacy of the husband over the wife in the modern family,
the necessity of creating real social equality between them, and the way to do it, will only be seen
in the clear light of day when both possess legally complete equality of rights. Then it will be
plain that the first condition for the liberation of the wife is to bring the whole female sex back
into public industry, and that this in turn demands the abolition of the monogamous family as the
economic unit of society."
As the first major book that rejects the notion that women were always subjugated (as far as I know), along with its arguments for women's liberation, it is definitely an important historical piece.
I'd like to read a more modern equivalent for this book, without all the guesswork.
And, a quote from it:
"In the great majority of cases today, at least in the possessing classes, the husband is obliged to
earn a living and support his family, and that in itself gives him a position of supremacy, without
any need for special legal titles and privileges. Within the family he is the bourgeois and the wife
represents the proletariat. In the industrial world, the specific character of the economic
oppression burdening the proletariat is visible in all its sharpness only when all special legal
privileges of the capitalist class have been abolished and complete legal equality of both classes
established. The democratic republic does not do away with the opposition of the two classes; on
the contrary, it provides the clear field on which the fight can be fought out. And in the same
way, the peculiar character of the supremacy of the husband over the wife in the modern family,
the necessity of creating real social equality between them, and the way to do it, will only be seen
in the clear light of day when both possess legally complete equality of rights. Then it will be
plain that the first condition for the liberation of the wife is to bring the whole female sex back
into public industry, and that this in turn demands the abolition of the monogamous family as the
economic unit of society."
johnbeige's review against another edition
5.0
Leacock's introduction and editorial notes make this version practically essential.
anharee's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
read it for a paper. enjoyed the analysis of women being like the proletariat within the home and men being the bourgeoisie. integral to family economics, could do without the racism.
sansalogy's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
A good read for anyone wanting to get into marxism. Despite being written after the death of the founder of communism, Engels stills writes in continuity with its ideology and links how the concept of family and its development is profoundly linked to the appearance of private property and the state.
Not up to date on new anthropological evidences and informations, with some major sexist and homophobic biases still showing, it remains a cornerstone of its genre.
Not up to date on new anthropological evidences and informations, with some major sexist and homophobic biases still showing, it remains a cornerstone of its genre.
lusca's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Very reflective. Many new information has come to light that contradicts what Engels writes about here, but I really like this way of observing history, and connecting human development to our productive forces and relations. Despite some information not being relevant anymore, this book is an interesting read and important to understanding Marxist thought and dialectical materialism.