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Women and the Common Life: Love, Marriage, and Feminism
"Vintage Lasch.... One of the refreshments of reading him is that he states his beliefs outright."―Andrew Delbanco, New York Times Book Review Christopher Lasch has examined the role of women and the family in Western society throughout his career as a writer, thinker, and historian. In Women and the Common Life , Lasch suggests controversial linkages between the history of women and the course of European and American history more generally. He sees fundamental changes in intimacy, domestic ideals, and sexual politics taking place as a result of industrialization and the triumph of the market. Questioning a static image of patriarchy, Women and the Common Life insists on a feminist vision rooted in the best possibilities of a democratic common life. In her introduction to the work, Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn offers an original interpretation of the interconnections between these provocative writings.
228 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Christopher Lasch
30 books351 followersChristopher "Kit" Lasch (June 1, 1932 – February 14, 1994) was an American historian, moralist, and social critic who was a history professor at the University of Rochester.
Lasch sought to use history as a tool to awaken American society to the pervasiveness with which major institutions, public and private, were eroding the competence and independence of families and communities. He strove to create a historically informed social criticism that could teach Americans how to deal with rampant consumerism, proletarianization, and what he famously labeled the 'culture of narcissism.'
His books, including The New Radicalism in America (1965), Haven in a Heartless World (1977), The Culture of Narcissism (1979), and The True and Only Heaven (1991), and The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy published posthumously in 1996 were widely discussed and reviewed. The Culture of Narcissism became a surprise best-seller and won the National Book Award in the category Current Interest (paperback).
Lasch was always a critic of liberalism, and a historian of liberalism's discontents, but over time his political perspective evolved dramatically. In the 1960s, he was a neo-Marxist and acerbic critic of Cold War liberalism. During the 1970s, he began to become a far more iconoclastic figure, fusing cultural conservatism with a Marxian critique of capitalism, and drawing on Freud-influenced critical theory to diagnose the ongoing deterioration that he perceived in American culture and politics. His writings during this period are considered contradictory. They are sometimes denounced by feminists and hailed by conservatives for his apparent defense of the traditional family. But as he explained in one of his books The Minimal Self, "it goes without saying that sexual equality in itself remains an eminently desirable objective...". Moreover, in Women and the Common Life, Lasch clarified that urging women to abandon the household and forcing them into a position of economic dependence, in the workplace, pointing out the importance of professional careers does not entail liberation, as long as these careers are governed by the requirements of corporate economy.
He eventually concluded that an often unspoken but pervasive faith in "Progress" tended to make Americans resistant to many of his arguments. In his last major works he explored this theme in depth, suggesting that Americans had much to learn from the suppressed and misunderstood Populist and artisan movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Lasch sought to use history as a tool to awaken American society to the pervasiveness with which major institutions, public and private, were eroding the competence and independence of families and communities. He strove to create a historically informed social criticism that could teach Americans how to deal with rampant consumerism, proletarianization, and what he famously labeled the 'culture of narcissism.'
His books, including The New Radicalism in America (1965), Haven in a Heartless World (1977), The Culture of Narcissism (1979), and The True and Only Heaven (1991), and The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy published posthumously in 1996 were widely discussed and reviewed. The Culture of Narcissism became a surprise best-seller and won the National Book Award in the category Current Interest (paperback).
Lasch was always a critic of liberalism, and a historian of liberalism's discontents, but over time his political perspective evolved dramatically. In the 1960s, he was a neo-Marxist and acerbic critic of Cold War liberalism. During the 1970s, he began to become a far more iconoclastic figure, fusing cultural conservatism with a Marxian critique of capitalism, and drawing on Freud-influenced critical theory to diagnose the ongoing deterioration that he perceived in American culture and politics. His writings during this period are considered contradictory. They are sometimes denounced by feminists and hailed by conservatives for his apparent defense of the traditional family. But as he explained in one of his books The Minimal Self, "it goes without saying that sexual equality in itself remains an eminently desirable objective...". Moreover, in Women and the Common Life, Lasch clarified that urging women to abandon the household and forcing them into a position of economic dependence, in the workplace, pointing out the importance of professional careers does not entail liberation, as long as these careers are governed by the requirements of corporate economy.
He eventually concluded that an often unspoken but pervasive faith in "Progress" tended to make Americans resistant to many of his arguments. In his last major works he explored this theme in depth, suggesting that Americans had much to learn from the suppressed and misunderstood Populist and artisan movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 11, 2016
Of posthumous publication, this was a book that historian Christopher Lasch worked on for over two decades and the last to be published before his death in the 90's. Rather than one continuous narrative, this book is a set of related essays on the different theories of the femenine throughout various historical periods and the effects of those theories on families and country. These essays vary in quality and scope as they try to trace the changing views of womens' roles from the middle ages to present. The least interesting essay to my mind is Misreading the facts about Families as it focuses too narrowly on one silly book. The most interesting essay to me is The Mismeasure of Man, an essay in which he argues that the demise of unstructured environments (loose family education, debating clubs, fraternal organizations) has undermined the ability of men to develop initiative and self organization, thus killing the 'masculine' in our young men. Mismeasure dovetails with what is to me the strongest essay (if not the most original), The Sexual Division of Labor, an essay about the decline of civic involvement of women after the first wave of feminism and of the increasing institutionalization of organizations of charity and of the care of children. Women increasingly giving up their soft authority over family and society to experts and the erosion of community and child-care ties as families fled into the suburbs. A good solid book that smashes a lot of myths about what we think caused the change in family structures, though a tad hard to read. I was impressed by Lash's ability to give credit where credit was due to feminist writers and their ideas. The strength of this book lies in Lash identifying the thought process of women of those times and showing how they viewed their roles as opposed to how we moderns think they did. Overall trustworthy as a historical record, as I have seen the same ideas in various other unrelated treatises namely A History of Christian Marriage by Glen Olsen. A few caveats here and there, mostly about the first part of the book where the author misses the theological underpinnings of marriage by crediting Lombardo and Luther with starting ideas about personal will as the basis of marriage in canon law. Overall a solid book, if somewhat difficult to read.
August 4, 2008
In the end, he's as confused as the rest of us - he says that what women need is the challenge of individual experience and forget all this silly stuff about how connected and compassionate we are - but the "golden age" of the progressive movement (1890 - 1920) that he looks back on is the era of connection (women's clubs and organizations, settlement houses, etc.) when women lobbyed for compassionate reforms. And since he criticizes the consumer culture as one of empty jobs producing disposable goods, (first time I have heard the old "production for use" tag since Roz Russell in My Gal Friday....) he thinks women will not find satisfaction in jobs outside the home. Therefore, he seems to want us to go back to voluntary work, which is ok with me - nice work if you can get it, and I do a bit myself - and surely we can get along without consumer goods, but given the cost of higher education, not really feasible any more.
June 12, 2014
Recommended to me by a theology professor, this book helped me understand the historical context of feminism and modern families in a different light. A little ironic to read the week before my wedding, but I liked it. I agree with many of the reviews below mine about the criticisms.
March 14, 2025
Twice this week I've stumbled over Lasch mentioned in passing. He was obviously a bigger name than I thought.
Once this book hit chapter 3 or 4 I was interested. Before that, not so much. The initial chapters and one at the end were responses to/reviews of his contemporaries and mostly summarized with a few of his thoughts at the end.
But his contrast of More and Wolstonecraft was delightful, as was his observation of the overly-venerated 1950s suburbia. As the introduction explained that there were extenuating circumstances with this particular publication, I'll give him another try.
Once this book hit chapter 3 or 4 I was interested. Before that, not so much. The initial chapters and one at the end were responses to/reviews of his contemporaries and mostly summarized with a few of his thoughts at the end.
But his contrast of More and Wolstonecraft was delightful, as was his observation of the overly-venerated 1950s suburbia. As the introduction explained that there were extenuating circumstances with this particular publication, I'll give him another try.
January 17, 2015
A fascinating book worthy of a close reading. As is typical for Lasch this book challenges shibboleths on both the left and the right. The book consists of nine essay each of which can stand on its own. Most interesting to me because of the multiple directions it cuts regarding the role of the State in relation to marriage was an essay titled, "The Suppression of Clandestine Marriage in England: The Marriage Act of 1753." Strongly recommended.
March 6, 2008
gift from Mom
U of R professor
U of R professor
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April 24, 2024This is a collection of essays, of which I read two, so no stars merely reflects that I haven't read the whole collection. The two I read were "Bourgeois Domesticity, the Revolt Against Patriarchy, and the Attack on Fashion," and "The Sexual Division of Labor, the Decline of Civic Culture, and the Rise of the Suburbs."
Both are well worth reading. I found the second particularly illuminating - even applicable. Lasch argues that the perception of the past as a time when women's lives were entirely consumed by housework and motherhood is historically wrong. He suggests that this model of feminine work is no older than the post-war generation, when families retreated to the suburbs and effectively dropped out of civic life - a realm where women had been particularly active and effective, especially between 1890 and 1920. The sharp division between work and domestic life tended to leave women in a boring (if very comfortable) cage, leaving nothing but housework and childcare to fill their days; while men in the workplace were equally enervated by "make-work"; so that both sexes lost their sense of vocation. Moving women into the marketplace and giving them salaries did nothing to resolve their sense of purposelessness, merely putting them in the same position as men, who were already unhappy there. Modern feminism has failed women by elevating "choice" into its primary slogan and accepting the artificial, unsatisfying, marketplace world on its own terms.
"A feminist movement that respected the achievements of women in the past would not disparage housework, motherhood, or unpaid civic and neighborly services. It would not make a paycheck the only symbol of accomplishment. It would demand a system of production for use rather than profit. It would insist that people need self-respecting, honorable callings, not glamorous careers that carry high salaries, but take them away from their families. Instead of seeking to integrate women into the existing structures of the capitalist economy, it would appeal to women's issues in order to make the case for a complete transformation of those structures. . . . By rejecting "progress", of course, it would put itself beyond the pale of respectable opinion - which is to say, it would become as radical as it now merely claims to be." (Pg. 119-120)
Both are well worth reading. I found the second particularly illuminating - even applicable. Lasch argues that the perception of the past as a time when women's lives were entirely consumed by housework and motherhood is historically wrong. He suggests that this model of feminine work is no older than the post-war generation, when families retreated to the suburbs and effectively dropped out of civic life - a realm where women had been particularly active and effective, especially between 1890 and 1920. The sharp division between work and domestic life tended to leave women in a boring (if very comfortable) cage, leaving nothing but housework and childcare to fill their days; while men in the workplace were equally enervated by "make-work"; so that both sexes lost their sense of vocation. Moving women into the marketplace and giving them salaries did nothing to resolve their sense of purposelessness, merely putting them in the same position as men, who were already unhappy there. Modern feminism has failed women by elevating "choice" into its primary slogan and accepting the artificial, unsatisfying, marketplace world on its own terms.
"A feminist movement that respected the achievements of women in the past would not disparage housework, motherhood, or unpaid civic and neighborly services. It would not make a paycheck the only symbol of accomplishment. It would demand a system of production for use rather than profit. It would insist that people need self-respecting, honorable callings, not glamorous careers that carry high salaries, but take them away from their families. Instead of seeking to integrate women into the existing structures of the capitalist economy, it would appeal to women's issues in order to make the case for a complete transformation of those structures. . . . By rejecting "progress", of course, it would put itself beyond the pale of respectable opinion - which is to say, it would become as radical as it now merely claims to be." (Pg. 119-120)
March 24, 2024
wait i’m shook. obsessed. this is everything new wave feminism wants to be but more articulate and careful (and 30 years sooner.) also why does he want me to think Betty Friedan isn't all bad. and to listen to foucalt. CHRIS😭
July 18, 2025
I love Lasch
January 10, 2024
4 — I’m quite biased because Lasch’s work resonates with me so deeply. Per usual, he provides wonderful insight. Also per usual, there were moments that were more difficult to get through due to the text being rather dense. Overall, a great edition to his body of work.
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November 18, 2016Gift from my mother.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews