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Family Abolition

Capitalism and the Communizing of Care
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( 256 ratings, 54 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Family Abolition by M. E. O'Brien explores the complex history of the family in capitalist society, where it often functions as a site of coercion and domination despite being a source of love for some. The book traces the evolution of family structures through racial capitalism, from European industrial cities to North American plantations, highlighting revolutionary effortsβ€”from early Marxists to modern protest movementsβ€”to imagine alternative forms of communal care beyond the traditional family.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book will appeal to readers interested in social justice, feminist theory, queer studies, and radical political thought, especially those curious about reimagining care and community beyond conventional family systems.

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A revolutionary rebuttal of the family under capitalism

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'An accessibly written distillation of two centuries worth of reproductive class struggle; a revived vision of revolutionary "beloved community" for an age of climate catastrophe. Spread this book around, and start communizing care!' Sophie Lewis, author of Abolish the Family.

For some of us, the family is a source of love and support. But for many others, the family is a place of private horror, coercion, and personal domination. In capitalist society, the private family carries the impossible demands of interpersonal care and social reproductive labour. Can we imagine a different future?

In Family Abolition, author M.E. O'Brien uncovers the history of struggles to create radical alternatives to the private family. O'Brien traces the changing family politics of racial capitalism in the industrial cities of Europe and in the slave plantations and settler frontier of North America, explaining the rise and fall of the housewife-based family form.

From early Marxists to Black and queer insurrectionists to today's mass protest movements, O'Brien finds revolutionaries seeking better ways of loving, caring, and living. Family Abolition takes us through the past and present of family politics into a speculative future of the commune, imagining how care could be organised in a free society.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780745343822

Publisher: Pluto Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 June 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pluto Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 1g

Pages: 304

About the Author

M. E. O'Brien writes on gender and communist theory. She co-edits two magazines, Pinko, on gay communism, and Parapraxis, on psychoanalytic theory and politics. Her work on family abolition has been translated into Chinese, German, Greek, French, Spanish, and Turkish. She received her PhD from NYU. She is the co-author of the novelΒ Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052–2072.Β She tweets @genderhorizon.

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