Love and the Economic Condition

Paper Summary:

This paper asks why love is such a hot topic today. Was love present in America before our modern idea of the nuclear family took hold in the 1950's The paper asks how the idea of love between the conjugal couple and between the children has historically forced the structure of the family.

From the Paper:

"In the present time, the idea of love has consumed us. We write movies, songs, plays and books about it. We dream about it. We even set aside a day to celebrate it. We are told love is a biological condition, that when our brain finds someone else's pheromones desirable, we feel as if we've been struck with cupid's arrow. Although there are biological aspects to the feeling of love, an intense emotional bond to another human being, the meaning of love in a larger socioeconomic world changes with the economy. Love, as we know it, didn't exist for colonial settlers of the New World or for the Native Americans. Love as we know it is entirely an invention of our particular society, and has a direct correlation to capitalism and class rank. An exploration of family life in different time periods can accurately show how modern man's interpretation of what seems to be such a complex emotion is completely reliant on economic and social factors."

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