@PeaceLaborMay@lemmy.ml I’m with you that Engels analysis on prehistoric families is pretty off. Ethnographic studies have found examples of monogamy, polygyny, and polyandry all over the world, so it feels more like family structure used to vary heavily based on local conditions. That said, we can look at Manchuria or the Iroquois Confederacy to see examples of cultures that were matrilineal until fairly recently and the effect patriarchy had on the diminishing of women’s freedoms and public voices in these regions. Patriarchy almost always seems to coincide with imperialist colonization.

And I agree about the Ego thing. As someone who’s poly the thing that I find most frustrating about people is ego and possessiveness not just of things but of people. If I am able to think “this person is mine” then it’s not difficult to think things like “I deserve the things I appropriate from others ‘in my care’.” Suddenly opportunity hoarding doesn’t feel like an ethical conflict and feudal households start to take shape.