Dissent Magazine, storica rivista liberal statunitense, pubblica un articolo di Sarah Jaffe che riassume e analizza le critiche e le alternative portate da vari autori alla struttura familiare.

I ruoli personali nella famiglia tradizionale si sono modificati nel tempo a seconda delle circostanze economiche e sociali: per esempio, le guerre hanno spinto le donne a sostituire gli uomini nei processi produttivi, e fattori economici (salari unici insufficienti, perdita di potere dei sindacati…) le hanno spinte ad affiancarli.

Women in particular have carried the double shift of housework and waged work, but we’re all suffering the consequences… a great variety of morbid symptoms appear: loneliness, increased pressure on fewer social connections… even dating apps and reality shows promising love in ever less likely circumstances. We are desperately trying to patch holes in the social safety net with our personal lives.

Le soluzioni proposte da vari autori sono accennate, ma rimangono insoddisfacenti.

So what is to be done? I have found this question more frustrating when it comes to the politics of the family than almost anything else. If it is impossible to expect any one book to lay out an entire program, it’s reasonable to want some ideas for how to organize. Not that I’m suggesting a Leninist anti-family vanguard party; rather, I would like the left to take seriously the question that I started this piece with: how should we live together and divide our labor?