Cards (5)

    1. Inheritance of property
    Engels: Isolated nuclear family ensures wealth stays within the family.
    This serves capitalism as it keeps wealth private rather than distributed amongst the community.
  • 2. Indeological functions
    Zaretsky:
    • cushioning effect: family acts as a comfort from the exploitation in society “king of the castle” - men are in control at home so don’t recognise exploitation at work, maintaining capitalism.
    Althusser:
    • family socialises children into the ruling class ideology and unequal social hierarchy. This ensures the next generation accept this as normal - maintaining capitalism.
  • 3. Unit of consumption
    Zaretsky:
    Families provide profits for the bourgeoisie. The workers are paid less than what is charged for what they make, but they are targetted to by these products back. Children use ‘pester power’ to ‘keep up with the Jones’ and prevent bullying, but their benefits capitalism, not families.
  • Other functions
    • Reproducing the next generation of workers
    • The reserve labour force (women)
  • AO3:
    • Ignores family diversity
    • Fem: underestimates gender inequalities within the family.
    • Func: Ignores benefits of the family for society (functions)