Housework As Intangible Property Value?

Times are changing, every day we see something that was unimaginable a century or a decade ago. For example, we can order everything from home, get it delivered to our doorstep and pay for it without cash being involved. A robot can do the cleaning while we're doing something else, a washing machine can do the washing, dishes also can be washed using a dishwasher and this is just a beginning as in a few years these things will be outdated, something new is going to be implemented. That's called development.

Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay

There are works that are and always has been done for free, the person doing it never get paid and it's just free labor. It's been taken for granted, every woman has to do the housework for free, in some countries the wife has to take care of the husband's parents as well. Obviously there are exceptions. Rich or well off families can hire a maid to get the job done, or an entire crew, from maids to cooks and gardeners, pool cleaners to do all the work that a household need. The bottom line is, these works are paid.

A Chinese court ruled in a divorce case that a wife should get about $7,700 from her husband in compensation for five years of housework. That’s about $128 a month, or 10,000 yuan a year. source

This is unprecedented, has never happened before in China and it was only possible because on 28 May 2020, the Congress of China adopted the new Civil Code effective from 1 January 2021.

The ruling has caused an online debate about whether the amount established by the court is fair or not. Being a European, I can't comment on the fairness of the amount, I have no idea if it's a lot of very little, but with this ruling, the court has created a precedent that can be used in further cases.

I'm a little bit surprised by this ruling. Not because I think it's unfair though, but because it has happened in China, a communist country, heavily controlled by the government, where human rights are not a priority, the nation's interests always come first and any individual can be sacrificed for the greater good.

In this case, the wife’s household work counted toward intangible property value.

Intangible property, also known as incorporeal property, describes something which a person or corporation can have ownership of and can transfer ownership to another person or corporation, but has no physical substance, for example brand identity or knowledge/intellectual property. It generally refers to statutory creations such as copyright, trademarks, or patents. It excludes tangible property like real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) and personal property (ships, automobiles, tools, etc.). In some jurisdictions intangible property are referred to as choses in action. source

In this case the judge had a 5 year period to evaluate the value of the intangible property for, but not all marriages end after five years. What's happen if there's a case in which the divorce happens after 20 years? Will the husband be ordered to pay for 20 years? Moreover, is the wife obliged now to pay income taxes? Most likely as it's income, traceable and will be traced as court orders must be respected, otherwise penalties must be paid.

Looks like this new Civil Code puts much more emphasis on the sustainable development and protection of the environment, which is a very good thing and was much needed. China has neglected to protect its environment, or should I say has sacrificed the environment on the altar of development.

Times are changing and things are also changing, even if the process is slow in some countries. It's a start.

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