Against Marriage
An Egalitarian Defence of the Marriage-Free State
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:25th Jul '19
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- Hardback£37.49(9780198744009)
Against Marriage argues that marriage violates both equality and liberty and should not be recognized by the state. Clare Chambers shows how feminist and liberal principles require creation of a marriage-free state: one in which private marriages, whether religious or secular, would have no legal status. Part One makes the case against marriage. Chambers investigates the critique of marriage that has developed within feminist and liberal theory. Feminists have long argued that state-recognised marriage is a violation of equality. Chambers endorses the feminist view and argues, in contrast to recent egalitarian pro-marriage movements, that same-sex marriage is not enough to make marriage equal. The egalitarian case against marriage is the most fundamental argument of Against Marriage. But Chambers also argues that state-recognised marriage violates liberty, including the political liberal version of liberty that is based on neutrality between conceptions of the good. Part Two sets out the case for the marriage-free state. Chambers criticizes recent arguments that traditional marriage should be replaced with either a reformed version of marriage, such as civil partnership, or a purely contractual model of relationship regulation. She then sets out a new model for the legal regulation of personal relationships. Instead of regulating by status, the state should regulate relationships according to the practices they involve. Instead of regulating relationships holistically, assuming that relationship practices are bundled together in one significant relationship, the marriage-free state regulates practices on a piecemeal basis. The marriage-free state thus employs piecemeal, practice-based regulation. It may regulate private marriages, including religious marriages, so as to protect equality. But it takes no interest in defining or protecting the meaning of marriage.
The book is interesting and accessible, and at the cutting edge of scholarly work about alternatives to marriage. * Adrian Thatcher, Marriage, Families & Spirituality *
This book is an important and distinctive addition to the burgeoning literature on liberalism and state-sponsored marriage ... this is a creative and thought-provoking book * Eric Cave, Australasian Journal of Philosophy *
Chambers's Against Marriage is an extremely important work that will surely spark debate and further discussion on this topic. * Christie Hartley, Hypatia Reviews *
Clare Chambers breathes new life into radical feminist critiques of marriage and classical liberal critiques of states that give their imprimatur to specific notions of the good life in order to argue that state-recognized marriage is fundamentally unjust. ... Her book demonstrates how the strengths of analytical political philosophy can be powerfully mobilized as a resource for motivating political change. * Comments from the David Easton Prize Committee *
Chambers' Against Marriage is a wonderful addition to a growing literature demanding that we think seriously about the institution of marriage and how it may have to be altered to meet the demands of justice and equity her articulate and thoughtful arguments have made me think more seriously about many issues involving marriage. * Robert Scott Stewart, Metapsychology Online Reviews *
I found Chambers persuasive: Against Marriage compelled me to rethink some of my ideas on the subject and brought much greater precision to others. And even those who disagree with much more of it will have to engage with it, as an integrated and reasonably comprehensive analysis of how the state should approach marriage * Danny Yee, Danny Yee Reviews *
I highly recommend Chambers' book as an important scholarly and pedagogical resource. It is beautifully crafted and makes an important contribution to the literature in liberal political theory and, more specifically, to the philosophical literature on marriage and family. ...It was my distinct pleasure to read this book and be provoked by its arguments into a better understanding of both liberalism's promise and its limitations with regard to its support of diverse forms of relationship. * Shelley M. Park, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
Clare Chambers puts together a well thought out rejection of state recognized marriage based on the notion that such marriages are gendered and heterosexual in nature while undermining liberty and equality. ... The book is interesting and thought-provoking and Chambers is able to explain why she believes that a marriage-free state is needed. * Hennie Weiss, Metapsychology Online Reviews *
- Winner of Winner of the 2018 APSA David Easton Award.
ISBN: 9780198845683
Dimensions: 231mm x 156mm x 13mm
Weight: 370g
240 pages