pdotb reviewed Family Values by Melinda Cooper
Solid gold
5 stars
My eldest has already teased me about how excited I am by a book on the intersection of neoliberalism and neoconservatism but this really is worth it. Describes the unholy alliance between neoliberals and the social conservatives as they both aimed to base society around the institution of the family -- social conservatives for obvious reasons, but neoliberals because, for all their talk of the autonomous individual, they had realized that the family could form an important 'social insurance' role. Tied back to the Elizabethan Poor Laws, this was essentially the idea that the state shouldn't pay to support people if there was any way their family (husband/wife, children, or parents) could support them. This is obviously an attractive approach when you're trying to reduce social spending and cut taxes... Cooper uses this lens to cover a wide range of topics, including Clinton's welfare 'reforms', AIDS in the 80s, gay …
My eldest has already teased me about how excited I am by a book on the intersection of neoliberalism and neoconservatism but this really is worth it. Describes the unholy alliance between neoliberals and the social conservatives as they both aimed to base society around the institution of the family -- social conservatives for obvious reasons, but neoliberals because, for all their talk of the autonomous individual, they had realized that the family could form an important 'social insurance' role. Tied back to the Elizabethan Poor Laws, this was essentially the idea that the state shouldn't pay to support people if there was any way their family (husband/wife, children, or parents) could support them. This is obviously an attractive approach when you're trying to reduce social spending and cut taxes... Cooper uses this lens to cover a wide range of topics, including Clinton's welfare 'reforms', AIDS in the 80s, gay marriage, student loans, the housing crash of 2008, and so much more. The only downside from my point of view is that the details of these topics cover almost solely the US context, though apart from her last chapter on evangelical Christianity, most of it is applicable to other countries (e.g., the UK under Thatcher and then New Labour). Very highly recommended.