Family Abolition

What is the nature and role of the family under capitalism? While family is sometimes the only protection from the atomizing domination of the wage, the market and the racial violence of the state, the meaning of 'family' is at best contested, and at worst describes a private horror of personal domination. In this provocative book, M.E. O'Brien uncovers the story of radical proposals to abolish the institution of the family altogether, from the time of Marx and Engels to new queer and transgender communist visions. Going far beyond notions of 'chosen family', O'Brien maps the development of ideas about new forms of interpersonal kinship that can ensure our collective survival, raise children and care for the elderly, alongside new political kinships linking queer, Black and migrant struggles. Drawing inspiration from the rich history of radical abolitionists, present-day examples of new queer communities, Black families navigating their existence and examples of communal social reproduction in extreme political situations, she explains how a concrete, hypothetical institution of a new communist 'family' could be achieved.