ABSTRACT
A major thesis of the book is that the subordination of wives to their husbands in the family is the basis of the subordination of women in the society and polity. This subordination of women in the private sphere is a core principle in the Western liberal tradition. In this chapter the justification for the subordination of women in the family in the philosophies of Hobbes, Locks and Rousseau is contrasted with the Marxist view of the family as the first site of gender subordination, and the Marxist program for the liberation of women in the family and society is presented.
