The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884), was a provocative and profoundly influential critique of the Victorian nuclear family. Engels argued that the traditional monogamous household was in fact a recent construct, closely bound up with capitalist societies. Under this patriarchal system, women were servants and, effectively, prostitutes. Only Communism would herald the dawn of communal living and a new sexual freedom and, in turn, the role of the state would become superfluous.

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• ISBN: 9780141191119
• Number of pages: 240
• Weight: 179g
• Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 14 mm