You must be thinking about Gary Becker's Treatise on the Family (I think that is the title), which attempts to explain the sexual division of labor, and the unequal rewards and responsibilities accorded to men and women in neoclassical economic terms. This has generated a huge literature, including a lot of criticism for flattening family relations to mere "rational calculation," as well as the reactionary conclusions he draws. Richard Posner also has a much more readable and in some ways more provocative book, Sex and Reason (no math, Becker's has a lot of math), arguing for some of the same conclusions, as wella s others more and in some cases less humane. The book is notorious for a footnote in which Posner comes close to defending selling babies. The Chicago school is libertarian about sexual preferences and liberal about abortion rights, however. You can search online in respectable sources for Becker and posner on sex and the family. --jks
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>At 10:44 PM 12/28/00 -0500, Doug Henwood wrote:
> >A seasonal classic, pointed out by Matt Hogan, by the repellent Michael
>Levin:
> >
> ><http://www.mises.org/fullarticle.asp?control=110&titlenum=&FS=&title=Scrooge+Defended&Month=3>
> >
>
>This, in concert with Justin's response, prompts a question.
>
>Kelley was recently telling me a bit about the Chicago school, and how
>they had some views on familial relations that sounded rather abhorrent
>to me. I am interested in more info, backgrounders, critical reviews,
>etc. on the Chicago school - best places to start looking, if nothing
>else. Offlist replies are fine, and thank you in advance to all who
>respond.
>
>Reese
>
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