Introduction

Centuries after the "triumph of industrialism," we find ourselves wrestling through a paradox of wealth and loss, of abundance and loneliness. The home, once the principle "factory" of society, stands now as a mere shell of its former function and authority. The family, once the bedrock of civilization, is more divided today than it has been at any point in human history.

In the face of such monumental shifts, corrupt philosophies, and entrenched interests, what can one family possibly do? Quite a bit, actually. We believe the answer can only come from families, and it can only start at home. The family economy is a concept so foreign to the modern industrial mind that it needs to be re-introduced and defined again as the solution that it has been for thousands of years. That is what this book intends to do.