Neoliberals favored contractual freedom for intimate life only if costs are privately internalized
Evidence
Posner and Becker were adamantly opposed to no-fault divorce, not out of any overt moral concern with the decline of family life (the rising divorce rates of the late twentieth century were inevitable, Becker insists) but because of the potential social costs involved in supporting dependent women and children. When women and men fail to privatize the costs of their sexual behavior, instead transferring these costs to the state, neoliberals make an exceptional case for the imposition of noncontractual obligations. In cases of marital dissolution then, the legal responsibilities of marital and child support must take precedence over the wishes of the parties involved. — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 241 (
#exemplifies, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: American neoliberals defended kinship bonds as noncontractual obligations and opposed no-fault divorce — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 214; Neoliberal legal scholars opposed constitutional privacy rights and favored private contracts instead; Neoliberals opposed no-fault divorce to force families to absorb social costs — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 241 (+2 more)
Related
- American neoliberals defended kinship bonds as noncontractual obligations and opposed no-fault divorce (similarity 0.91)
- Neoliberals opposed no-fault divorce to force families to absorb social costs (similarity 0.90)
- Free-market champions Becker and Posner opposed no-fault divorce and sexual privacy rights (similarity 0.88)
- Neoliberals supported market contracts in sex but opposed state-subsidized rights (similarity 0.84)
- Neoliberals endorsed state coercion to enforce kinship obligations over income redistribution (similarity 0.80)
- American neoliberals saw family altruism as a substitute for the welfare state (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Neoliberals opposed no-fault divorce to force families to absorb social costs
#exemplifies(0.95) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 241