The Autonomy Myth

by Fineman, Martha Albertson

• ISBN13: 9781565849761
• ISBN10: 1565849760
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-08-01
• Publisher: New Pr

Summary

Cornell Legal scholar argues agains pr-family legislation - indeed, against the very concept of the tradional family - and gives the lie to the idea that anyone in America is actually 'self-suffient. She insists that the sexually affiliated couple is no longer an appropriate building block for contemporary families and that society should be organised around 'caretaking relationships,2 particularly those involving children or elderly parents.

Author Biography

Martha Albertson Fineman, is a Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law at Emory University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
Introduction	xiii
PART ONE FOUNDATIONAL MYTHS: AUTONOMY, DEPENDENCY, AND SOCIAL DEBT	1	(54)
A Dystopian Fantasy	3	(52)
Chapter One Exploring Foundational Myths	7	(24)
I. Introduction	8	(9)
II. The Relationship Between the "Rule of Law" and Foundational Myths	17	(8)
III. Equality or Autonomy-Shifting Foundations	25	(6)
Chapter Two Dependency and Social Debt: Cracking the Foundational Myths	31	(26)
I. Introduction	31	(2)
II. The Rhetoric of Dependence and Independence	33	(7)
III. Dependency and Choice	40	(4)
IV The Dependency Deficit-A Society in Default	44	(5)
V. The Rhetoric of Subsidy and Self-Sufficiency	49	(4)
VI. Conclusion	53	(2)
PART TWO INSTITUTIONALIZING AUTONOMY	55	(88)
Existing Societal Arrangements	57	(86)
Chapter Three The Family in the Rhetoric of Civil Society Privileging Marriage	71	(24)
I. Introduction	71	(5)
II. Defining the Problem The Civil Societarian Perspective	76	(3)
III. Family Function and Family Form Collapsing the Distinction	79	(2)
IV. Regulating the Family-Moral Justification and Beyond	81	(7)
V Poverty and Well-Being	88	(7)
Chapter Four Why Marriage?	95	(26)
I. Introduction	95	(2)
II. The Many Meanings of Marriage	97	(11)
III. The Law of Marriage	108	(2)
IV Defining the Family	110	(5)
V Marriage in Context	115	(4)
VI. Conclusion	119	(2)
Chapter Five The Future of Marriage	121	(24)
I. Introduction	121	(3)
II. "Man and Wife" From Protected to Partnered	124	(6)
III. Backlash	130	(3)
IV Rethinking the Relationship of State to Marriage A Thought Experiment	133	(5)
V Outside of Contract	138	(2)
VI. Conclusion	140	(3)
PART THREE FEMINIST CRITIQUES OF THE FAMILY	143	(62)
Equality and Family	145	(60)
Chapter Six Feminism and the Family: Implementing Equality, Achieving Autonomy	156	(26)
I. Introduction	156	(10)
II. The Wake of Feminist Family Law Reform	166	(9)
III. The Future of Family Reform	175	(5)
IV. Conclusion	180	(2)
Chapter Seven Mothering in a Gender-Neutral World	182	(36)
I. Introduction	182	(6)
II. Valuing Care	188	(7)
III. Fatherhood	195	(7)
IV Conclusion	202	(3)
PART FOUR THE AUTONOMOUS INDIVIDUAL AND THE AUTONOMOUS FAMILY WITHIN THE SOCIAL CONTRACT	205	(87)
Chapter Eight Recasting the Social Contract	218	(23)
I. The Metaphoric Social Contract: Ordering the Public, Defining the Private	218	(10)
II. The Social Contract The (Mis)use of the Private Family	228	(8)
III. Taking Change into Account: Rethinking the Social Contract	236	(1)
IV. Social Contract in Action	237	(2)
V. Conclusion	239	(2)
Chapter Nine The Tentative Workplace	241	(22)
I. Introduction	241	(3)
II. The Tenuous Workplace	244	(5)
III. Work and Social Goods	249	(3)
IV Unions, Equity, and Market Distribution of Social Goods	252	(3)
V Wealth and Entitlement	255	(4)
VI. Right to Work/Equality of Opportunity	259	(4)
Chapter Ten The Tenable State	263	(29)
I. Structuring State and Society	263	(1)
II. Ideology and Politics	264	(5)
III. Posing the Philosophy for an Active State	269	(6)
IV. The Politics of Substantive Equality	275	(3)
V. Historical Roots for a More Substantive Equality	278	(2)
VI. International Norms	280	(4)
VII. Forging a More Just Social Contract	284	(8)
Postscript What Place for Family Privacy?	292	(17)
I. Privacies	295	(4)
II. Limitations of Privacy	299	(1)
III. Revisioning Privacy	300	(2)
IV. Autonomy for Family Functioning	302	(5)
V. Conclusion	307	(2)
Notes	309	(62)
Index	371