As we examine the patterns of supplementary parenting described in this volume, we could lose sight of certain biological imperatives that shape the structures of family life and, thus, parent-child relationships Similarily, our perspective on the significance of these explorations of supplementary parenting might be distorted if we were to ignore the social context that has given rise to them

Haven in a Heartless World

Parenting: alternatives and continuities

Additional excerpts

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High Stakes Motherhood and School Choice

Following in the theoretical tradition of the Frankfurt School, Christopher Lasch contends that the narcissistic personality has become the modal personality type in the United States According to Lasch, the narcissistic personality is nurtured in the contemporary nuclear family and sustained by a culture that promotes immediate gratification and a preoccupation with the self The central aim of this paper is to critically analyze Lasch's argument The paper will show that Lasch's perspective rests on the unfounded psychoanalytic assumption that the adult personality is crystallized during childhood socialization and remains largely resistant to change It will further be shown that Lasch's Freudianism is at odds with his Marxist politics, and that his conceptualization of culture and personality rests upon a functionalist bias in his theoretical perspective The conclusion of this paper is that Lasch does not provide any reliable evidence for the existence of a narcissistic personality type in contempor

Haven in a Heartless World

Citations

Parenting: alternatives and continuities

High Stakes Motherhood and School Choice

The reproduction of culture and personality: Critique of Christopher Lasch

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