Why do we commonly think of the family and the capitalist market as mutually exclusive domains? Many see the family as the realm of love and intimacy and the market as the realm of self-interested individuals. But in fact, the two have always been deeply inter-related.
Providing for one’s family through buying the commodities available in the capitalist market has long been a primary motivation to engage in market activity, whether as an entrepreneur or as an employee. Changes in the capitalist market repeatedly reshaped the family, leading to a reduction in family size and changing roles of men, women, and children. In turn, the changing nature of the family created new market demands and opportunities in enterprise, work, and consumption.
In the second lecture of the Justice & Markets series, Dr. Jerry Muller (Catholic University of America) draws upon intellectual, demographic, social and business history, as well as the contemporary social sciences, to explore the deep inter-relationships between the family and the market.
From the origins of modern capitalism through contemporary debates about the relationship between changing family patterns and economic inequality, this talk will explore the variety of perspectives from which the interaction of the market and the family should be understood, and why those interested in business should pay attention to changes in the family.
The lecture is open to the public and will be held in the Pyon Su room of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union on Thursday, April 16 at 4 p.m.
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