Murdock argues
that the family is a
universal
institution that has
four functions;
1. Education
A man and women are
needed to perform
primary socialisation
4. Economic
Breadwinner (husband)
Housewife (wife) - if there is
no breadwinner or
housewife theyre not doing
proper roles. if they both
work there is no one to look
after the kids
2. sexual
socially approved
- marriage
3. Reproductive
man and women-
needed to have
children
-Other sociologists have criticised his
functionalist theories. Marxists and
feminists reject his 'rose-tinted'
consensus view. they argue that
functionalism neglects conflict and
exploitation of women.
Parsons
Parsons believes that
every family in every
society has two basic
functions
1. Primary
socialisation of
children
Through early childhood the childs personality
is shaped and moulded to absorb norms and
values. no other institution provides warmth,
security and mutual support necessary for
primary socialisation
Can be criticised for beign too deterministic, with children being pumped full of
culture and their personalities being moulded by adults. He ignores the possibility
of socialisation beig a two-way process in which roles are negotiated or that
attempts at socialisation can be resisted by children.
2. Stabilisation of
adult personalities
Emphasising marital relationships, and the
emotional security the couple provide for each
other. It balances out the stress and strains of
everyday life. Also, it allows adults to act out
the childish parts of their personalities
The Marxist Zaretsky argues that the family only provides this emotional support in order
to encourage its members to continue to work every day under the harsh realities of
capitaism. The family is therefore a servant of the capitalist state which looks after the
needs of exploited workers at no cost to the employers.
OVERALL EVALUATION; Functionalist views on the nuclear family
tend to be based on middle class and American versions. They
consequently neglect other influences such as ethnicity, social class or
religion. Feminists argue that they ignore the 'dark side' of family life
(conflict between husband and wife, male dominance, child abuse etc).
they give little attention to the dysfunctions of the family - how it may
affect wider society.
consensus/positive
views of the family
Functionalist theories: the family
performs positive functions for
individuals and society
New Right theories; the family is
the cornerstone of society, but it
is under threat
Conflict/critical views of the family
Marxist theories: the family
provides important functions for
capitalism
Feminist theories: the family
reinforces gender inequality
and patriarchy
Marxist
theories
Engels
Engels argued that the need for
family arose when societies started
to value private property. An
organised system of inheritance
became necessary - fathers needed
to know who their offspring were in
order to pass their property down
the family line. With this, Engels
argues came the need for
monogamy (one man married to
one woman) - this created the
family. Therefore, the family serves
the interests of the economy.
Modern research has suggested that Engels interpretation of the
development of the family are historically inaccurate (monogamous
marriage and the nuclear family are often found in hunter-gatherer
groups). Functionalists would reject Engels view of the development of
the family, rather than being developed for the prupose of passing
down wealth, the family plays an important part in socialising the young
and stabilising adult personalities.
Zaretsky
Zaretsky suggests that the family serves capitalism
by offering emotional security from the oppressive
world of work. However, in reality, it only provides
emotional warmth to encourage it members to
continue working under capitalism everyday.
The liberal feminist Jennifer Somerville
argues that Zaretsky exaggerates the
importance of the family as a refuge from
life in capitalist society. She suggests that
he underestimates the extent of cruelty,
violence and incest within families. she
also argues that Zaretsky ignores the fact
that during the early stages of capitalism
most working class women had to take
paid work in order for the family to
survive, few stayed home as housewives.
Althusser
and
Poulantzas
The family can be seen as serving the functions of an ideological
state apparatus by socialising both pro-capitalist ideology and its
own familiar ideology in order to maintain such family patterns
over time.
Feminists argue that this theory ignores the fact that such a
family ideology supports patriarchy since it suggests that men
and women should have different roles in the family and
society. Functionalists reject the view that the family socialises
children into capitalist ideology. Instead, the family enables
children to internalise the culture of society to enable them to
become effective functioning adults.
OVERALL EVALUATION; Marxist views of the
family follow logically from Marxist theory.
Feminists argue that the Marxist emphasis on
social class and capitalism underestimates the
importance of gender inequalities within the
family. By contrast, functionalists argue that
Marxists ignore the real benefits that the family
provides for its members. From an interpretivist
point of view, Marxists tend to neglect the
meanings families have for individuals and how
family members interpret family relationships.