Rev Left Radio "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 2)
May 26, 2023
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Greek Gens Shifted To Patriarchal Wealth
- Engels traces how Greek gens structures mirrored Iroquois forms but evolved toward patriarchal inheritance and private wealth accumulation.
- This shift undermined gens cohesion and set conditions for the later emergence of the state.
State Emerges To Secure Private Wealth
- Engels argues the state arises to secure newly accumulated private wealth and legitimize class divisions created within gens societies.
- The state institutionalizes class rule and accelerates exploitation that gens contradictions already began.
Commodity Production Transformed Athens
- Engels reads Athens as moving from communal land toward commodity production, money, and class differentiation.
- Commodity exchange and money unleashed social powers that transformed producers into exploited classes.