In 'The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State,' Friedrich Engels examines the historical development of social structures. He traces the origins of the family, private property, and the state to specific economic and social changes. Engels argues that the rise of private property led to the subjugation of women and the creation of patriarchal family structures. The book analyzes how the state emerged as an instrument of class rule, serving the interests of the dominant economic class. Engels draws on anthropological and historical evidence to support his analysis. His work provides a foundational text for Marxist feminism and offers insights into the relationship between economic systems and social institutions.
One of the most radical things you can do is live your life in direct opposition to the forces that control our society. Not just fighting for policies or organizing your community, although those are certainly important parts of it, but also living with values that oppose the values of our dominant society. And even more importantly, raising the next generation to embody those values—not in a coercive way, but through organic parenting and role modeling that make radicalism irresistible. This is how we raise revolutionaries: instilling community, love, egalitarianism, and a need for justice into children. And this is just what our guest in today's episode has devoted himself to doing.
Breht O’Shea is an activist, organizer, political educator, and host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio and co-host of the podcasts Red Menace and Shoeless in South Dakota. He is a father of three based out of Omaha Nebraska.
In this conversation, Part 3 of our Post Capitalist Parenting series, Breht shares with us insights about parenting that he's learned over the years as a father of three and what Marxism teaches us about parenting. We discuss the classic text by Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, which is a dialectical materialist analysis of patriarchy and the family, tracing the emergence of the patriarchal family and it took through various iterations of class society but also exploring what families have looked like under actually-existing socialism and also what it might look like under communism. We also explore the anti-natalist position which attempts to argue that having children is immoral, why this perspective is deeply flawed, what Buddhism can teach us about parenting, and much, much more.
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Intermission music: "Cool 4 U" by Club Cafe
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