Staat und Familie: Ideologie und Realitat eines Verhaltnisses

In: Osterreichische Zeitschrift fur Politikwissenschaft, Band 32, Heft 4, S. 375-388

Abstract

The relations between family & state are to be characterized as contradictory: In an ideological way, the symbolic system family, envisaged as a "natural" way of living, serves as a central legitimating figure for the (nation) state. But as a real form of social life, family is constituted & stabilized by state activities. Conservative ideologies of the patriarchal family use to be (re-)activated during times of crisis, while (male) men worry about their dominant positions. The crisis of Fordism led to its revitalization accordingly. Against this background, a seemingly "unholy" alliance was formed between (neo)liberalism & (neo)conservatism in the field of family policy. Unholy because the (neo)liberal cult of the individual represents the sheer antithesis to the (neo)conservative transfiguration of the family as a solid community. This paper intends to show why this connection is not as absurd as it seems. 38 References. Adapted from the source document.