The Minimal Family

The Minimal Family arose from an argument that began between the two authors over fifteen years ago. While both agreed that the family was being steadily weakened, principally by the ways the economy erodes family solidarity, they disagreed about the significance of the change.

Neither people's private lives nor the state will ever be fully satisfactory or adequately responsive to the full range of individual and collective needs, if only because these needs will invariable change over time. As a result, we can expect continued, albeit intermittent, conflict and flux as people strive to forge decent lives for themselves.

University of Massachusetts Press