The title of this book is less revealing of its power than the subtitle. So far this year this one is the best book I have
read. I have a very bad case of intellectual curisioty - very difficulty to satisfy. This didn't disappoint; it is GREAT!
If you follow current events you must have heard the debate, especially in the blogosphere, about the real value, measured as salary per annum, of stay-at-home moms. If you Google search "salary of stay-at-home moms" you will see an estimate of $117,000. The figure has set off a flurry of pro-con debate.
Professor Burggraf came to the topic a little long before many commentators presently online. In the "Feminine Economy and Economic Man" she clarifies the issues authoritatively. The problem she sees is that "the family is actually the primary engine of economic growth, and yet it has never been recognized as such" (p.ix). The first three chapters of the book are devoted to demonstrating how the problem arose and why it is important to solve it. Three distinct views emerge from that discussion. On one hand is neo-Marxist radical feminism that suggests that it is imperative that technological progress come around to abolish the family structure and its role, both of which center around the domination of women by men. It envisions a revolution that ends into a gender-less and sex-less society. This biological transgendering and transsexuality would resemble Marx's classless society under his communism construct.
On the other extreme are radical anti-feminists claiming that society is at great risk of danger unless women return to their traditional roles at all costs. The two opposing sides contrast to the Burggrafician vision which distinguishes between the "quest for economic equality" by women and their supporters and the social benefits of motherhood in which women pay a much larger investment cost of a positive externality. The author demonstrates effectively that the economic principles that support the masculine economy at the cost of the feminine economy in turn increase the depreciation rate of human capital. One of the obvious consequences of increased human capital depreciation is the loss innovation. The implications are important to us all. Just brilliant!!
Chapter 5 describes how the stress on human capital ultimately strains social capital as more and more women, discouraged by the low value markets put on their work, leave the feminine economy to become "economic men." While justifiable, the transgendering ignores the fact that "society needs families as desperately as it needs farmers" (p. 67). Neither the liberal bend toward women's economic freedom, nor the conservative insistence that "family roles aren't optional" (p. 68) suffice as sustainable paradigms.
This book should be read and recognized! If you have any doubt, here is a simple reading sequence: start with the Preface, Chapter 1, and jump to Chapter 11, for a hook. Chapters 5 -10 constitute l'entrée, along with an invaluable Appendix. Definitely a five-star that does not disappoint.