Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism - Book Review

[@knavishknight]

"The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation." (Marx & Engels (1848) Communist Manifesto, Ch. I "Bourgeois and Proletariat")

[@matthews7805]

Not surprising coming from a bum like Marx.

[@xxvxxv5588]

Marx had a wife and 7 children.

[@xxvxxv5588]

He wasn't hostile to idea of family.

[@knavishknight]

@@xxvxxv5588 "The original meaning of the word 'family' (familia) is not that compound of sentimentality and domestic strife which forms the ideal of the present-day philistine; *among the Romans it did not at first even refer to the married pair and their children, but only to the slaves.* Famulus means domestic slave, and familia is the total number of slaves belonging to one man" Engels, Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, II.3 "The modern family contains in germ not only slavery (servitus), but also serfdom, since from the beginning it is related to agricultural services. It contains in miniature all the contradictions which later extend throughout society and its state." Marx, quoted in Engels, Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State, II.3

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

​@@xxvxxv5588don't mind the idiot, he helps circulate Marx literary work even if he's wrong

[@daiMac_]

"If the bell exists, ring it" is such a powerful statement that if I didnt know it was a yotuber call to action, I'd think it's from a french philophpser

[@JohntheDuncan]

If the revolutionary bell exists, ring it

[@bethelbethel845]

Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in ~ Leonard Cohen

[@TheRealNickG]

​@@JohntheDuncan DING! 🎉😎🙏

[@Toastwig]

Make your choice, adventurous stranger Strike the bell and bide the danger Or wonder till it drives you mad What would have followed if you had - C.S Lewis

[@OnlyUkeThatMatters]

You owe me a move say the bells of St. Groove Come on and show me say the bells of Old Bowie When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I -The Clash, “Clash City Rockers”

[@-N0V4-]

Never having seen or been taught of the nuclear family as the correct or ideal family standard- I'm absolutely obsessed with philosophies concerning it. Its so alien but soooo familiar in the same byproducts of the ideology manifesting in societies that never practised it in the first place.

[@Caleb6000]

You're being quite dishonest claiming to come from a society you never saw a nuclear family as a standard. You're literally from Africa.

[@petterericson6230]

Lovely little vid comment comment algorithm algorithm

[@ConductiveFoam]

Algorithm comment algorithm response on lovely little vid

[@kylezo]

i can tell you, having been fed and raised on the idea of the nuclear family and having that ripped away by social conservatism and neoliberal-governance-driven poverty is...not a good feeling. life altering permanent psychological wounding that you simply can't resolve, because you were built up inside of a lie. grief that cannot be resolved because the idea itself of the idealized family cannot exist in reality, and so, an unresolvable longing and nostalgia for a time that never existed, creating a treacherous and unclear path forward. you add the death of actual family members in there, and "family" both lets us down and becomes unachievable at the same time, which is a recipe for a disjointed psychological framework

[@Crash_Of_Waves]

Wow! Reminds me of how hegemonic masculinity is an unattainable ideal. What if we speak of the hegemonic family rather than the hegemonic man? Marginalized, deviant, subordinate and complicit families.

[@hunter7643]

I’m interested in this because I feel this is similar to a thought I had while reading some works by Mark Fisher and Helen Hester when Fisher proclaimed that Domestic Realism was more important than Capitalist Realism shortly before his death (domestic realism being that family dynamics/ traditional structures of ownership are naturalized as the only realistic possibility). I feel overcoming familial ownership is a very good step towards a more liberated future, see: The Leftist Cooks video on anti-Natalism, and johntheduncan’s analysis of Chicken Run 2, but I am interested in the discussion about what this author has to say!

[@jehorigby8778]

Hello, you understand a lot more than me, could you recommend any texts, videos or books I could go over to help? I am attempting to navigate a situation with friends who see 'the left' and 'feminism' as attacking "family values" and the "family unit", daily wire and abortion = satan, brain worms level.... We (myself and them) are on opposite sides ideologically and I'm not well read enough to engage them, I've read some parenti which was really valuable and I'd honestly appreciate any help or direction you could provide

[@hunter7643]

⁠@@jehorigby8778 feminism is prob the topic im the least well-read on 😅, but some here’s some ideas nonetheless. For one, Innuendo Studios’ Alt Right Playbook series on KZbin is rlly good for the logic and debate of the Right (and just that channel in general), and some other KZbinrs that have feminism related content could be Lily Alexander, Doki Doki Discourse, oliSUNvia, and The Leftist Cooks, also Philosophy Tube and Alexander Aliva. The foundational authors of feminism are also generally De Bouvouir, Judith Butler and bell hooks. Maybe to give some specific texts Alexander Aliva’s “How Conservatives Created (And Cancelled) Gender”, either of The Leftist Cooks’ “Should People Exist?”(probably more relevant), and “Spiderverse, Identity Politics, Leftist Infighting[…]”, and I’ve heard bell hooks’ “Feminism is for Everyone” is a rlly good book intro to feminism. And, just in my taste, Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of The Oppressed” is just overall good. And if that’s all too overwhelming, I’m sure you could find a fast read on Crimethinc. or the Anarchist Library. good luck and hopefully this is helpful ! ❤

[@jehorigby8778]

@@hunter7643 Honestly thank you so much! I've watched odd bits of the alt right playbook, Lily's , Alex's and Philosophy tube's content is *chef's kiss* I hadn't heard of dokie dokie discourse, olisunvia or the leftist cooks so I'll check them out! I feel like I recognise some of those authors you mentioned from a chill goblin and also philosophy tube video? (Bell hooks, De Bourvior and Judith Butler?) To give a sense of how green I am to this subject I've only read pedagogy of the oppressed and some michael parenti, both of which were honestly fantastic What's crimethinc? Is the anarchist library something that would have high quality critiques? My struggle is it seems like the amount of diverse subjects (seminary level biblical discourse, political science, military history, economics, US history, debate stuff, etc) I need to learn about and have perfect recall of just to counter an idea (like their views on abortion = satan worship for instance) while also trying to maintain an environment where they'll at least listen, feels...😮‍💨 exhaustive and without having had the time for higher education I can't formulate arguments from books very well just yet. Parrot, feel, understand, care about - Yes. Able to disassemble and join different points together from authors - Not quite 😞 Thank you again for your help and if you have any more suggestions for me I'd honestly be thrilled! If you're ever in Cairns, I'll cook for you and take you round 😁🤝🫂

[@soniashapiro4827]

I observe the use of the term family to mean the unit of personhood. Politicians give speeches about middle class families and what they'll do for them, or struggling American families and I just want to howl. Why can't they say "people"? A single non-breeding person is what? A family of one? A non-thing?

[@Buzzing_around]

I think they are indicating which subset of people that aim to support and perceive as having moral value. In Australia they’ll often specify “Mums and Dads” to narrow it down more.

[@brendanbell5326]

For the most part someone who has kids needs more support and is providing more benefit for society. I say this as a single person too. Species needs to perpetuate itself somehow

[@soniashapiro4827]

@@brendanbell5326 I'm not at all opposed to child tax credits, subsidized healthcare, etc, what I'm objecting to is that people aren't the focus. Everyone who's in a family is a person. Is every person a family?

[@brendanbell5326]

@@soniashapiro4827 I think single people are a part of a family

[@soniashapiro4827]

Which family?

[@jamesstansfield917]

Appreciate the review! ❤

[@JohntheDuncan]

Cheers!

[@Effective_tool_of_Satan]

I thought you were going to talk about Addams Family values. That movie slaps.

[@JohntheDuncan]

Oh buddy, you're gonna lose your mind when you check my most popular videos

[@DrAnarchy69]

While you had a lot of good points, I couldn’t get my eyes off of your dapper floral patterned shirt and so I forgot all those points

[@poppysunsettlingstories]

Always a pleasure, Dr John.

[@untitledanarchistseagullch1237]

If you plan on delving into all the nonsense discourse that has appeared on twitter in the past couple of years about how 'abolition of the family' supposedly does not mean 'abolition of the family', as a translator of German (amongst a number of other languages) who has been filling gaps in the English-language Marxist canon, I would love to break down why that discourse is absurd.

[@sespeI]

the part about being looked at as if you have shit on your face if you advocate for family abolition….yeah. as someone who doesn’t believe in or see the necessity for marriage people look at you like you just punched a child when you explain it to them.

[@twipameyer1210]

I would totally buy a metal album "if the bell exists, ring it" and I have activated it on your channel but I feel there is no effect.

[@JohntheDuncan]

Nobody knows if the bell actually rings

[@scientificaly_restful_one]

​@@JohntheDuncan It does in people's hearts.

[@latentcc9448]

5:15 The Salvation Army is literally a Church with congregations, pastors, members, etc. While it's good that they do some positive humanitarian work, that kind of stuff should just be handled by the government. Poor people shouldn't have to rely on a religious organization for bread. What's insane is the amount of religious people who think poverty shouldn't be eliminated because Jesus said "You'll always have the poor. You won't always have me." or some shit. If there aren't any poor people, how can they show their love for Jesus?

[@monolith94]

It’s not that we think that poverty shouldn’t be eliminated. It’s that we think that it cannot be. Because we’re right. Because your lauded government doesn’t save the people, the masses, but is in fact the greatest oligarchic tool of oppression the world has ever known

[@DeoMachina]

@@monolith94 Oh okay, I guess that settles that then. No need to ask why that might be! We'll just take monolith94's word for it :)

[@mic_at_nite]

Great video, and glad you adressed what I thought was most critiquable: the limiting description of neoliberalism as well as its separation from neoconservatism. I whole heartedly view them as two sides of the capitalist coin of accumulation and expansion. Will definitely add this to the reading list with these critiques in mind, on top of it's specific contextual relevance to the US. Dont know if I've said/requested this before, and perhaps it's a bit outside of your current social reproduction and decolonial/degrowth focuses, but would love to hear your take on Varoufakis' Technofeudalism. It's been sitting on my shelf a while as I've been trying to finish my Masters in Applied Sociology and haven't had the time to get into it since it is outside of the scope of my thesis, and I feel like I generally get what the arguments are, but want to know what others are thinking about the arguments being put forward.

[@JohntheDuncan]

I am gonna read technofuedalism at some point and will probably review it

[@Sassycpr]

Very thoughtful John

[@anopinionatedlaymanappears9052]

What is the best book on neo-liberalism?

[@JohntheDuncan]

Not sure there is one particular book unfortunately. There's many directions to look at neoliberalism from. In terms of international trade, John Smiths imperialism in the 21st century is great. From social reproduction then Tithi Bhattacharyas Social Reproduction Theory, Wendy Brown's in the ruins of neoliberalism is good from an ideological lens. And David Harvey's a brief history of neoliberalism is a good introduction

[@anopinionatedlaymanappears9052]

@@JohntheDuncan Cheers

[@SigFigNewton]

Das Kapital

[@ruplayinggame3080]

ah, super cool! I had this book on my to read list. will probably still read it, cause I'm always the one in my social circle criticizing the nuclear family (and there's a running joke at my scifi book club that I will *always* bring it up lol). Thanks for the video, lovely as usual!

[@dr.everyzig4010]

Bell Exists... But Who's Ringing?

[@booksnphilosophy]

such a thoughtful summary and discussion. Will definitely get hold of Cooper's book. It'd be interesting to translate these ideas to my country's politics. Was hoping for a more subtle definition of neoliberalism though.

[@josue.ortega]

Great video, as a man raised almost exclusively by single women in a commonly-shared house, I found this very illustrating.

[@dysgregulated]

Thanks for sharing the knowledge, I'll add it to my reading list (and the follow-up book too!)

[@DeviilReaper]

Are you the guy behinf the WonderWhy channel?

[@JohntheDuncan]

@@DeviilReaper eh..no

[@smilleur]

I enjoyed how loose this video felt. Kind of a "light-work" feel

[@podpoe]

added to the reading list! also just followed you on tumblr

[@Tay2Cheap]

Give the link to the book.

[@leonhayes188]

The "nuclear family" was never a concept in the Southern United States. It's ALL about extended family and community.

[@JohntheDuncan]

@@leonhayes188 it was never really a firm concept anywhere except particular bourgoise circkes. But rather it was an ideal that the state and capital sought to foster

[@DC-wk7yo]

Polyamory and relationship anarchy baby!!

[@kbr517]

Ooooooh I clicked so fast

[@booksnphilosophy]

Would be interested in considering neoliberalism and conservatism structures, similarities and differences through a lens of classical functionalism.

[@drprofessorsoso208]

Ah, indeed, the so-called "neoliberal espousal of familial virtues"-an ironic appellation if ever there was one. How striking it is, then, that this ostensibly valorized concept of 'family values' seems, in actuality, to be nothing more than a surreptitious affront, veiling a perniciously selective ethos. One might even say it is a tacit endorsement of a moral myopia, an ideology as myopically self-serving as it is ideologically hypocritical, skillfully dressed in the guise of wholesome virtue while, in reality, underscoring an insidious proclivity toward the institutionalization of social inequality. One must marvel at the profound irony of this entire charade: a generation of indoctrinated zealots, masquerading as paragons of virtue, is cultivated-nay, engineered-to propagate under these contrived and morally corrosive "family values." Indeed, this is no mere policy; it is a grotesque theatre wherein individuals, compelled by doctrine rather than volition, are nudged, prodded, and cajoled into parenthood within a framework that preempts any semblance of genuine familial well-being. And, naturally, what does this yield? A cauldron of suppressed resentment, of intergenerational malaise-one that brews, ferments, and seethes beneath a veneer of domesticity until it finally erupts into a symphony of disillusionment and anger. Such an arrangement does not merely impact the family unit; it destabilizes it, generating a pervasive fury that becomes woven into the very fabric of its existence. This brand of ideological subjugation thus weaponizes the family against itself, transforming what should be a locus of support into an institution of quiet yet unrelenting discontent.

[@addammadd]

Hypotaxitis: the pathological incapacity of an intellectual to find the period on their keyboard.

[@addammadd]

Here’s a less masturbatory version; thanks chatGPT! -- The term “family values” is often used in neoliberal discourse. But this isn’t just a policy-it’s a stage where people are pushed into parenthood by ideology, not choice. They’re nudged and pressured into family roles within a structure that blocks any chance of real family well-being. What does this create? It leads to hidden resentment and generational tension. Beneath a surface of domestic harmony, frustration builds until it erupts in anger. This system doesn’t just impact families; it destabilizes them. It fuels a quiet but constant discontent, turning family life into an institution of unrest rather than support. This version breaks down the ideas into shorter sentences and focuses on the main points directly.

[@drprofessorsoso208]

@addammaddA word for someone with a phobia of long words is: "Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia" (45 letters)

[@skylinefever]

It is what happens when marriage and childbearing go from genuine desire to item to check off a list.

[@amicableanarchy7946]

books books books i love books i love hearing about books i love talking about books yes yes books books radical books love books i do 😊

[@TheHonestPeanut]

5:18 agreed, sort of, no shame for shopping there though. They're so big they're often the only or best thrift shop available.

[@tony2453]

Just found you from left of philosophy

[@ja9.b73]

Thanks!

[@yellows5685]

For real? I still have a coat I got from the salvation army dam

[@middaymeds]

The one I have to do is the same thing I have to do with my mom and dad and I have to go to the store and get it for the kids and I don't have any other stuff to do with them anymore.

[@strangetrip837]

Quick, label it 🙄🙄🙄

[@lemonlordminecraft]

I found this video too information dense and was not able to follow along while preoccupied with another activity. I have no one to blame but myself.

[@mchparity]

Now 9-1-1 Lone Star gay storyline is ruined, ruined, for me! Thanks.

[@user-mj2ol6kv8y]

I didnt even know they did poli sci or econ at Virginia Tech until you read out the author's definition of neoliberalism lol

[@nfinn42]

Sometimes wondering if far right youtube audiences get the obnoxious BetterHelp ads too, or if they target those strictly at lefties, and what that says 😕

[@TommyLikeTom]

My god, there is literally nothing in this entire video of any value. Just a bunch of people with zero life experience talking about stuff that they don't understand and stuff that probably doesn't even exist. It drives me insane that people buy it. My father was assassinated when I was 2 years old.

[@Jay.B.2046]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@Greatwolf615]

❤❤❤

[@user_.b]

📖

[@Cyberphunkisms]

how much word twisting do we need to do to maintain calling it a patriarchy

[@JohntheDuncan]

Eh...none

[@JunkSock]

He/him pronouns immediately visible - that’s a block

[@JohntheDuncan]

@@JunkSock what an odd way to live

[@JunkSock]

@ you got the algo comment though 🍾 cheers

[@adityakhanna113]

Why do social science videos always use big words without ever defining them in the video? This leads you to say a lot while saying very little substance

[@tibbygaycat]

It assumes a degree of familiarity. And there is a lot being said, not understanding it can be a failure on part of the creator but it doesn't mean they're not saying anything. I can't read Japanese that doesn't make Manga stop existing.

[@Gaff.]

Typically these terms are basic enough in their relevant fields that they don't warrant being explained every time they're used. To the point where I didn't even notice anything like this in the video. I watched it at 2x speed and understood all of it. It's not unlikely he'd have explained it in a different type of video but this looks like one that was done off the cuff and quickly. I think you'd have been better off just asking about what you didn't understand, and/or googling it.

[@calisto789]

Define what words? Grab a dictionary if you're getting filtered

[@kylezo]

in what world does not knowing definitions = lack of substance? lmao