Family: Humanity's fortress against the communist experiment

Source: The communist vision: The family as an institution doomed to extinction

"Bourgeois ideologues believe that the family is an eternal organization, that it is not transient, that sexual relations are the foundation of the family, that these sexual relations will exist as long as the two sexes exist, and since man and woman will both live under socialism just as under capitalism, therefore the existence of the family is inevitable. This is an absolute error... In the same way that classes will disappear and the state will disappear, similarly, alongside the strengthening of the socialist economy, with the growth of socialist relations, and with the overcoming of early pre-socialist forms — the family, too, will die. The family is already on the path of merging with socialist society, on its way to full integration within it."

(Alexander, *The Family and the Political*, The Israel Democracy Institute, p. 43, from the words of Alexander Slepkov, one of the leaders of the Communist Revolution)

Explanation: Breaking the family unit: The revolution's path to universal brotherhood

The family has outlived its purpose, or so declared the leaders of the Communist Revolution. The individual is part of society and part of the world, whereas the family unit is bourgeois, looking out only for itself and its own. Shattering this framework would lead to brotherhood among all people, free from competition and private wealth.

Perspective: Attacked from all sides: Why modernity sees the family as an enemy

Modernity saw the family as an enemy for a host of reasons. Feminism, communism, human liberty and rights, secularization—they all viewed the family as an exploitative, divisive, and shackling force. When children belong to everyone, and there is no exclusivity over sexual relations, housing, or bank accounts, then everyone will live in a harmonious society working solely for the common good. Marx (pictured) and Engels, the architects of communist thought, argued in their book The Holy Family that for the revolution to succeed, the institution of the family must first and foremost be destroyed.

Going Deeper: From the kibbutz to the West: The failure of the social laboratory experiment

The kibbutzim in Israel served as a laboratory for the dismantling of the family proposed by communist thought. Communal sleeping for children in the children's house rather than within the family was meant to realize the vision of the collective family. As is well known, the experiment failed, but not before devastating the emotional well-being of parents and children. (See the Wikipedia entry on "communal sleeping," as well as Yael Neeman's book We Were the Future). Yet it must be said that across the Western world, the experiment succeeded and the institution of the family is dying—except in Israel and a few other places, where the institution of the family remains significant and stabilizes society as a whole.

Culture: Merav Michaeli: From symbol of breaking the chains to mother of three

For years, media personality and politician Merav Michaeli established herself as a prominent voice for women's right to an independent life, free from social shackles and the expectation to have children. Her personal choices turned Michaeli into an icon for women and men who chose not to have kids. Years ago, she even claimed that "the nuclear family is the most dangerous framework for children." Recently, their third child, a daughter named Noa, was born via surrogacy—following two sons, Uri and Alon—offering yet another piece of evidence that the experiment modernity conducted on human beings was doomed to fail.