How Capitalism Redefined the Family for the Better
Capitalism has rarely, if ever, enjoyed high praise and esteem from either the masses or the intellectual class. Even today there is hardly an evil or negative consequence which detractors fail to trace back to Capitalism. Even in something as innocuous as family relations, detractors of Capitalism see in the family an institution that perpetuates inequality and oppression.
Marx and Engels were emphatic in The Communist Manifesto that the “bourgeoisie family” was a tool of exploitation and would “vanish with the vanishing of capital.” Today socialists are no less ardent in their beliefs of the corrupting influence of Capitalism in social relations as displayed by Dr. Ghodsee and her work Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism.
It was Ludwig von Mises in his work, Socialism, that offers a compelling counter-argument; instead of oppressing women, Capitalism has helped to elevate them and brought many of the cherished norms surrounding marriage into existence.
Marital Relations and the Principle of Violence
Mises begins his argument by first going over what marriage looked like for most of human existence, which has been dominated by the principle of violence. Simply put, this is the advantage of the stronger to impose their dominion on others.
The principle of violence leads inevitably to dominant male rule in familial relations. The man is the unquestioned master of the household; the woman is possessed by the man in the same sense he posses other goods. In society, she can be bought, sold, ordered away, or killed; this was the social order of every ancient society. Even in Judaeo-Christian culture, which helped spring Liberalism, we find evidence of this principle in the words of the New Testament “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.”
Contract Law Changes Everything
As contract law gradually began to shape and redefine economic life, so it came to affect familial relations. Brides no longer came into a marriage solely as vessels for childbirth, but also entered as heiresses to the estate of their original family. It’s not hard to imagine how the father of such a prospective bride would have the leverage and inclination to fight for better rights for their progeny. With this, women gained new economic rights when it came to disposing their dowry, and demanded monogamy from men, perhaps to ensure illegitimate children would be excluded from the estate.
Essentially, all our ideals about married life stemmed from the very practical issue of how society should deal with the private property that women brought into a new union. Gradually, this new relation between husband and wife is seen as a contract where both partners are equal, not a one sided dominion. Mises summarizes:
All our cherished ideals of marriage have grown out of this idea. That marriage unites one man and one woman, that it can be entered into only with the free will of both parties, that it imposes a duty of mutual fidelity, that a man’s violations of the marriage vows are to be judged no differently from a woman’s, that the rights of husband and wife are essentially the same –these principles develop from the contractual attitude to the problems of marital life.
Conclusion
It is no understatement to say that one of Western civilization’s greatest achievements is the new place women take up in the family. In many places around the world today the principle of violence still holds, but the Liberal Order realizes that man has more to gain by making women an equal partner rather than a submissive slave.
As current events indicate, any culture that fails to realize this and holds true to the principle of violence has doomed their culture to stagnancy.
Social relations is a vast field and while it is true that the current institution of marriage and family might be improved, it seems foolhardy to call for their outright abolition as some socialists are calling for.
It would be wise to look over history and think critically about all the advancements that have been made, especially by Capitalism, before extreme proposals are put forward.