Capitalism and the Family

Steven Horwitz

In this lecture, Horwitz will provide a history of the family as a social institution and argue that capitalism/classical liberalism and the wealth that it created were fundamental in transforming the family from an economic institution that was not good for women and kids to the predominantly emotion/affection-based institution we have today. The talk focuses on how markets liberated women and changed childhood for the better. It also includes brief discussions of divorce and same-sex marriage.

About the speaker

Steven Horwitz is the Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise in the Department of Economics at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He is also an affiliated senior scholar at the Mercatus Center in Arlington, Virginia, and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute of Canada. He is the author of three books, including most recently "Hayek’s Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions." He has written extensively on Hayek and Austrian economics, monetary theory and history, and American economic history, and is a frequent guest on radio and cable TV programs.

Co-sponsored with the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

Mason Hunt, MPA
Center for the Study of Economic Liberty
EconomicLiberty@asu.edu
https://csel.asu.edu/
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Memorial Union 202, Alumni Lounge