How capitalism and the bourgeois virtues transformed and humanized the family

McCloskey's two volumes argue that a change in our ideas about the dignity of human beings laid the groundwork for the tectonic changes in economic organization known as the advent of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution also changed human behavior by cultivating further the virtues that nourished it. This process can be seen in the way in which the capitalism transformed the family from the realm of “Prudence mostly” to “Love mostly.” Rather than undermining some romanticized vision of family life, capitalism is responsible for humanizing it by opening space for Love.

► The institution of the family was transformed by the advent of capitalism.
► Capitalism promoted the bourgeois virtues within the institution of the family.
► Where Prudence once dominated, capitalism created space for Love.