Prime Minister for Canyons wrote on Jul 17^th, 2015 at 10:39am:



that is a ludicrous statement of epic proportions.  the nuclear family has been the core of society since the dawn of time.  a mistress hardly changes that.  and the statement that it was 'common' is also manifestly wrong.

The nuclear family was invented by the Victorians, as everybody knows.

Traditional families are extended families - parents, kids, uncles, aunts, grandparents, in-laws, etc, everyone living under the same roof.

The nuclear family - two parents with kids - is a Protestant, post-industrial phenomenon. We've whittled this down further to one parent with kids. As women entered the workforce and obtained better incomes, it became possible for families to live with one parent. As child-care was rolled out throughout the developed world, it became even more possible - without the assistance of extended family members.

The nuclear family is unique to capitalism. It's unknown in most developing countries. There, extended families are the bedrock of rural communities and villages. Poor families there can't aspire to social mobility or higher incomes. Having no access to savings or capital, families produce children, which gives them more labour. Marriages are often arranged by parents, which cements community connections and extends families even more. Large, extended families are able to become more prosperous.

As countries develop, however, people move to cities and a middle class emerges. In cities, people live within an industrial model. As people are educated in cities and become middle class, the nuclear family gradually takes over the extended family model of the village. They have two children. Grandparents and in-laws drop away. The values of the village - collectivism, family loyalty and even blood feuds, dissipate. Couples aspire to the values of the individual, namely personal autonomy, away from the surveillance and social control implicit in village life.

In the city, social control is self-regulated. In the village, it's regulated by parents and elders - right down to who people can marry and associate with. In most parts of the world, including Australia, the nuclear family is less than a hundred years old. In regions of massive growth, like China, it's less than 40 years old.

The rise of the nuclear family as the dominant economic model is one of the biggest social changes capitalism has delivered.

Is the last part of the essay in Italics from Sporling's work?

Why is it in Italics? that suggests it's someone else's words.

It should have been referenced better.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 17^th, 2015 at 12:23pm:



like you can talk, coward.  You didnt even show up for the challenge.  Karnal and Aussie at least did that bit althought their subsequent tantrums have not exactly covered them in glory.

So what happened to you, pendantic-boy?  challenge get a bit hot for you?

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Jul 17^th, 2015 at 5:15pm:


I wrote the entire thing.  the 'sporling' quotes are also my own work.

it really confused Karnal and Aussie.  thats why they have been throwing such an epic tantrum.

longweekend58 wrote on Jul 17^th, 2015 at 5:33pm:




They're not throwing tantrums ..they are questioning the validity of your work.

I neither care whether you wrote it yourself or not but i do think it's pedestrian.

And quoting yourself as a pretend Swedish Professor reeks of narcissism.

I'm embarrassed for you watching you congratulate yourself.

mothra wrote on Jul 17^th, 2015 at 5:37pm:


well at least I can take your comments seriously, unlike the crying child who keeps claiming I didnt write it.  It was after all, creative writing and if you want legitimate sources, I can do that just as easily.  But I need a legitimate and adult-acting competitor and Karnal and Aussie have humiliated themselves too much to do it again.

Stopped crying yet Karnal?