Kristen R. Ghodsee reads and discusses part three of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "Theses on Communist Morality in the Sphere of Marital Relations." This essay is a precursor to "Make Way for Winged Eros" where Kollontai develops her Marxist understanding of marriage and the family as being part of the ideological superstructure, which is determined by the base of economic relations. Kollontai argues that the demise of capitalism will usher forth new definitions of the family. She argues that the end of capitalist economic relations will mean an end to the present definition of the family, but will produce a new definition of family more suitable to a collective and more cooperative society.

In this episode, Ghodsee also discusses Kollontai's problematic views on sex work and eugenics, and the challenges of reading Kollontai's 1921 essay from the vantage of 2019. In particular, Kollontai's eugenicist views must be rejected even as contemporary readers grapple with the continuing value of her theories of love.

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Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books:

• Everyday Utopia
• Red Valkyries
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
• Second World, Second Sex

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Kristen R. Ghodsee is the award-winning author of twelve books and a professor and chair of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.