Family Policy in Germany

Is the Romanticized Idealization of the Male Breadwinner Losing its Relevance

Bibliographic Data

ID19909699
AuthorsAlexander Nill (University of Nevada, Reno, corresponding author), Clifford J Shultz (0000-0002-7871-798X, Loyola University Chicago)
Year2010
Volume30
Issue4
Pages375-383
Publication date2010-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Macromarketing (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0276-1467 • E-ISSN: 1552-6534
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0276146710375963
OpenAlexW2150802598
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

The authors examine interactions among public policy, family values, and family living in Germany, a unique and evolving marketing system. A brief historical synopsis of family policy and family matters in Germany is presented. Then, the traditional normative framework underlying most family matters—the paradigm of the male breadwinner—is discussed. For many Germans, the values behind the male breadwinner paradigm do not provide guidelines for daily decisions. Rather, they reflect a romanticized abstraction of idealized family living. The article concludes with a call for an open dialogue about the normative foundations of family policy in Germany, eventually to establish agreed upon norms and guiding principles for public policy aimed at family, with implications for the marketing system and societal well-being

Economics · Family values · Idealization · Normative · Political science · Positive economics · Public policy · Sociology · Law · Sociology and Education Studies

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