The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

In this work, Friedrich Engels delves into the interplay between familial structures, economic systems, and state formation.

He argues that the oppression of women and the emergence of class society are historically linked to the production of a surplus and the division of society into classes.

The book also discusses how the state arose as a tool to defend the ruling class.

Engels bases his analysis on the research of anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan and uses the method of historical materialism to explain these societal developments.