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Date Posted: 15:16:48 10/15/13 Tue
Author: Bearman
Author Host/IP: 67.1.206.74
Subject: Re: BEARMAN!
In reply to: Old Ceeb® 's message, "BEARMAN!" on 13:59:29 10/15/13 Tue

>Little help?

Marx’s advocation of the abolition of the family (71) at first seems extreme, but the role of the family at the time must be considered. Women were certainly forced to do mundane labor for much less (if any) compensation. Child labor, which has since been banned in many industrialized countries, was widespread (76). Marx seems to be saying that, in many cases, the family only existed to provide laborers.

It would be interesting to learn more about Marx’s feelings towards women as to their status in society. In the Manifesto, it’s clear that Marx saw the labor of the bourgeoisie as reducing values of age and sex (59). Maybe this means he doesn't want women to be able to work. Or at least not as much. He also portrays communism as advocating a "community of women," the women of society being shared by the men. Apparently, this was part of the abolition of the family, since wives were exploited for labor at the time. After Marx’s contention that the bourgeoisie "take the greatest pleasure in seducing each others wives," making bourgeois marriage "in reality a system of wives in common," he claims that a community of women would be no different than the situation with the bourgeoisie, just less hypocritical (72). A "community of men," however, is not considered.

[April 1, 1999: After rereading this passage, it seems that Marx is responding to burgeoisie charges of a "community of women" with the abolishment of the family, to which Marx responds that the bourgeoisie have "a reality a system of wives in common" but that communists "desire to introduce, in substitution for a hypocritically concealed, an openly legalized community of women," which does not really seem to dispute the charges. He goes further and claims that communism would abolish "the community of women springing from that system, i.e., of prostitution both public and private" (72). How can a community of women abolish prostitution unless this community of women, like capital, is treated as a commodity to be distributed equally against their will? If the women were to have a choice in the matter, this would reintroduce inequalities (i.e. likes/dislikes) that would be exploited by the payment of capital: prostitution. His solution therefore seems to be incompatible with free choice of the women involved.]

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