Capitalism Hits Home: Family - A Feminist, Class Analysis

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[S5 E20] Family - A Feminist, Class Analysis
In this episode of Capitalism Hits Home, Dr. Fraad traces the history of the traditional family unit and offers a class analysis of how it has shifted and evolved since the 1700s. Fraad discusses the feudal arrangement of families, the impact of the French Revolution and WWII, and how issues of family form are being disputed in the political sphere today.
Capitalism Hits Home with Dr. Harriet Fraad (CHH) is a @democracyatwrk production. The show addresses the intersection of capitalism, class, and personal lives, and explores what is happening in the economic realm and its impact on our individual and social psychology. Learn more about CHH: www.democracyatwork.info/capi...
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[@flash_flood_area]

I always learn something new from Dr Fraad. This basic history is so important it should be taught to everyone at an early age.

[@MrFastFarmer]

Her reasons for the feudal system collapse are rubbish. Don’t believe everything she says…

[@MaryBeth551]

Thank you Dr. Fraad for giving us fact based history on the human family. It's true that in America children's lives were unimportant. I grew up in the Army and my father told me more than once that he could kill me and no one would do anything about it. This was in the 1960's. Today children in America still have no real rights.

[@cheri238]

Always greT to listen to you, Doctor Fraad. . One always learns .RESPECTFULLY. ❤

[@nodice8312]

Thank you..i am grateful to have taken the time to listen to this MARVELOUS discourse..it must be shared among one's friends...

[@loisk6186]

I'm assuming this Middle Ages description of family really only concerns Western Europe? This should have been explicitly stated. I'm curious how Middle Ages family in Asia and the Global South differed.

[@rcmrcm3370]

I cannot say for all of Asia but I can't say for China that up until the Communist Revolution in 1950s female children were regularly sold or killed even among the upper classes. It remained normal the kmt controlled Taiwan up until the 1980s. Both male and female children were considered the property of the parents even as adults, but male children were considered as good assets/investments, and females as loss leaders at best.

[@harisfareed4599]

Same mostly. Atleast in islam, Nuclear family is explicitly mentioned and given importance in holy texts (hadiths). In India, patriarchal extended family prevailed. Where I'm from (kashmir), it really depended on tribe to tribe, but family usually was communal with some tribes even being matriarchal, women were pretty elevated in society. So it depends. Also adding to fact kashmir was relatively isolated from rest of world until British came.

[@leftykeys6944]

Dr. Fraad, your perspective is truly wonderful. I could listen to you all day.

[@johnspencer772]

These history lessons never cease to astound me!!

[@MrFastFarmer]

Shame there not exactly correct

[@leftykeys6944]

Me too!

[@LauraVolpintesta]

This is so important to point out how a living wage for someone supporting a family isn’t available anymore- women with children trying to care for a family by themselves without support form partner nor form bosses and doing the work at home AND at work.

[@amp9672]

omg.... you absolutely blew my mind. It's like a huge part of reality suddenly is explained. You pulled the curtain on neocons and neofascist like in the Wizard of Oz. Bravissima

[@mervnicholson7108]

Elisabeth Young-Bruehl's book Childism argues that there is a prejudice against child-human beings, just as there is racism, classism, ageism, and other forms of prejudice. It's a very interesting argument and fits with Dr Fraad's analysis.

[@LauraVolpintesta]

It would be interesting to hear how the invention of schools plays into all of this- taking kids out of the home and family for most of the day.

[@Pukeyray]

Thank you for this explanation. As someone who has a love for innocent children and who believes in their potential, child development studies reveal how much we let down our precious little people. The history really shocked me but brings the whole picture into view and I am grateful for such profound clarity.

[@EvolutionWendy]

👁️👁️ Look close at the Yellow Coffee Mug behind Dr Harriet! 😃

[@TennesseeJed]

I can't read it on my phone screen.

[@withaak]

@@TennesseeJed 'I am a ray of f___king sunshine.'

[@TennesseeJed]

@@withaak haw!

[@quay007]

The golden years as in many countries were the 1970s. Where as mentioned by the Doctor, wages of a male were enough to support a whole family. Now even with both parents working, the purchasing power is isn't like it used to be. In the last century we have seen many changes to the family unit.

[@DioscuriA85]

My reading of history is: It wasn’t until recent history that ANYONE’s lives were valued.

[@MrFastFarmer]

Well that’s rubbish. Many died with honour for king and queen

[@LauraVolpintesta]

Family relationships are different than day care school and after school relationships . Family is worth protecting. As far as I know that the right is trying to protect CHILDREN from being given puberty blockers and surgeries when they are too young to make those decisions. I agree. Adults can do what they want. Turning these questions into right and left is so simplistic. Abortion law is one thing, selling abortion to young adults as a form of birth control and taking the reality and seriousness out of sexual relationships isn’t helping men and women to have meaningful connections and sex is turning into some kind of a sport like tennis and losing its meaning. Amidst everything being discussed here, are humans also having relationships. These relationships Color their world and the way they move in it going forward. We can’t erase relationships and emotions which will always be there in all these formats unless we find enough numbing drugs to do away with emotions and relationships altogether.

[@cristinacamero3733]

Wow! We are in general really ignorant of many aspects of life. Thank you for bringing to us this knowledge, it helps understand better the dynamics of society. My daughter has become a single mother of two, after getting divorce, the sole bread winner, and doing everything herself, I was very concerted about it, now I have a different perspective. I personally rather fighting for single mom's rights over abortion rights.

[@raeblack7949]

How about both?

[@gregoryvangaya8971]

Without communes and coops we can't have families without fascism and serfdom... That simple imo. I want to organise for Federated Participatory Co-ops and Villages

[@jamesfox2857]

Thank you , , ,

[@albertsonntag754]

Thanks!

[@Genedide]

This is probably the most darkly-hilarious and exhilarating episode you’ve ever done 😳🤣

[@piku5637]

Wow kids were treated like they’re not even people. That’s fucking sick. They’re still not treated that great to this day.

[@LauraVolpintesta]

Housework and childcare are considered degrading when they are the very foundations of our quality of life. It’s incredible. There is no quality life without cleanliness and food preparation amd food, meals.

[@mukenyibadibanga1697]

Thanks for such an informative video. Kindly edit the episode to correct BRIC to BRICS where "S" stands for South Africa.

[@advandepol7537]

Thank you again for this very cordial insightful lecture.

[@tristanbruns5968]

Rousseau (the writer of Emile, didn’t kill and keep children, he had five that all went to an orphanage. I’m surprised at this error.

[@TennesseeJed]

That was awesome! Thanks Harriet!

[@EvolutionWendy]

Dr Harriet also offers private counseling 😃

[@TennesseeJed]

@@EvolutionWendy I sure could use some of that.

[@materialism4080]

I’ve been interested for sometime in a communal living arrangement within a large group sharing resources and common living spaces. Because through my personal experience of being raised in a single income household and then even realizing 2 income households don’t live better.

[@justanotherhuman4615]

My grandmother s parent swapped her when she was a few months old for a puppy

[@peterclark6290]

Feminism achieved total victory when women got the vote. That they have complete political power for their concerns and for whatever reason they haven't turned that into bums on legislative seats to influence law and policy from an independent women's perspective is not necessarily the fault of men (we can't think like you so why pretend we should). Family, lifelong motherhood and permanent children are religious concepts: you have children to turn out strong, independent, capable adults or you are living the religious lie. Mother Nature did a pretty good job, all we can do is screw them up (faith's true objective). Marriage is statistically impossible; a lifelong friendship is a denial of reality for most, we change, they change, instead we should just use the time-honoured and seamless way to end friendships. And there are far better ways to raise kids than a nuclear household, start trotting through the record of human development for clues. Hint: The Tribe. Take a load off, share, additional caring eyes, ego-resistant, hundreds of skill mentors. The child at no point ever - asked for you to be their parent - to be given life is an unrequested imposition - it really is about them - not you. To be kept warm, fed, interested and stimulated - that's not so hard is it? Bonus: do it with joy - which is not possible for tired, still unfulfilled drone parents.

[@Pyasa.shaitan]

You live under bourgeois democracy.

[@peterclark6290]

@@Pyasa.shaitan Does this misplaced attempt to redefine bourgeois mean women do not get a say in their governance? Where has that worked?

[@treeofgrowth]

@@Pyasa.shaitan Yep. They buy this whole facade. Women? NOBODY from the lower class has ANY rights.

[@dj4monie]

@@peterclark6290 Exactly

[@LauraVolpintesta]

Parents can profit from their children’s labor WITHIN the home. Children aren’t useless, helpless life suckers once they hit a certain age they can help run the house.

[@paulenfaserem8915]

Hi Harriet, I am an admirer of your program. However, you stated, talking about Ëmile, minute 3:13 seconds by Jean-Jacques Rousseau ... you stated ... "(He) had five babies, he and his wife, and they killed three of them and kept two, and that was perfectly acceptable at the time." I have not been able to find any argument in the internet that supports your comment. Could you please reference your source. I would greatly appreciate it or anyone else who has the information. Thanks.

[@MrFastFarmer]

The feudal collapse was due to the shortage of knights from the crusades and then the Black Death. Not some BS about surfs not being needed.

[@LauraVolpintesta]

“The American family now has DEvolved”

[@SamuelOrjiM]

Please say western family morw often, don't want any conflation between this depravity and our indigenous child raising practices

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

Man I wanna come up n be free like ,Cuba, I'm not joking in tf least

[@jacpratt8608]

I'd like to see more creedit given to Freddie Engels for the Marxian ideas about the Holy Family..

[@LauraVolpintesta]

“This is the history of where the family came from” you are speaking for which section of society, for which group of people? This isn’t for all peoples everywhere. What specific areas and groups are you referring to?

[@stringbean4693]

Family is an artificially created institution. People have kids who're post dated cheques to be encashed in future. Notice how family keeps your empathy , compassion to a tunnel vision of I , Me , Myself & about Me. Just like anesthesia is needed for surgery or it would be agonizing Family is supposed to provide psychological anesthesia to avoid feeling lonely because the simple truth of , born alone and die alone doesn't sit right with most folks. Absolutely love Harriet Fraad.

[@RPShredow]

set to 1.5x playback for my ADD peeps.

[@cristinacamero3733]

😅

[@EvolutionWendy]

I like her voice.

[@Rebekah347]

Thank you!

[@Rebekah347]

1.25

[@vibe_depth373]

Wow 😳 was this true for people of color in America at this time?

[@dj4monie]

Yes

[@rcmrcm3370]

Can you define that color?

[@jacpratt8608]

24m/ 'Go pound sand!' 😆or is it Sam? 😅Never heard that before. 😂🤣 had to turn on subtitles to see what on earth she was saying.

[@dj4monie]

Sand as in the location of Saudi Arabia....

[@rcmrcm3370]

It's a very popular American idiom. Go pound sand. You can find it on the internet

[@goofusmaximus1482]

The phrase "go pound sand" I'd a polite way to tell someone issuing a demand to f*ck off!

[@Vienticus]

Don't trust the pills.

[@AliHassan-hb1bn]

Indebted gambler

[@bonniespeck]

Although I agree that your history is true, but only in some instances, it wasn’t the norm. As far as abortion goes, we need every child to fulfill the adoption needs here in the United States. I was a single mother with a lucrative career. I gave it up to marry a good but poor Godly man who was the sole breadwinner. I have never been happier even if he thinks he’s the boss. We complete each other. I’m 69. Look around, look up the states on marriage and kids in the middle class and above, nuclear family structure is still the norm. It was welfare programs that destroyed the family, not lower wages.

[@LolaBgcps]

So you're for forced births to fulfill the want to adopt babies? That's sick .

[@rcmrcm3370]

And what will you do when he dies? Will you do like the Indian women before 1960 and climb upon his funeral bier and allow yourself to be burned up since without him you are incomplete?

[@joelquaintance9025]

Our chromosomes decide whether we are male or female, not personal options. If I have an option that I am invisible and have always believed that I am invisible, does that make it so?

[@mustaqim8333]

your scientific understanding of sex is outdated to say the least

[@adamhbrennan]

Biological sex and gender identity aren’t the same thing

[@noah5291]

How does this even relate to the video?

[@williamoarlock8634]

As awful as Steinem.