The origin of the family, private property and the state

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Friedrich Engels: The origin of the family, private property and the state (1902, Charles H. Kerr)

217 pages

English language

Published Jan. 24, 1902 by Charles H. Kerr.

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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.

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