luke bretherton begins by asserting that blue labour is rooted not in abstract theory but in the practice of everyday politics: "on already established practices, traditions and customs, and the presuppositions and histories that inform them." he calls for recognising institutions such as schools, universities, small businesses and hospitals, as important bastions of common life against the tide of globalising commodification. that is a practical politics based on common work, distinct from the instant demands of recognition and respect seen in identity politics. michael merrick then writes on how labour and the left have neglected the family in spite of the clear evidence that stable families are overwhelmingly positive for a child’s development. liberal individualist attitudes saw the replacement of familial positions with economic ones and led to the state faultily attempting to compensate for the gaps in between. marriage began to be seen as an increasingly as a simple two-party contract of individual happiness.