Families and households

• Durkheim


  The family plays an important role in creating value consensus and integrating individuals into society so that society functions positively. The family also plays an important role in developing social solidarity.
• New Right ( Murray)


  Claim that men and women should take conventional roles in the family, with the woman being responsible for childcare and housework while the man should be the breadwinner. They argue that if the nuclear family breaks down then children will not be adequately socialised. They have concerns over the growing number of individuals who lack a work ethic and have become reliant on state benefits (welfare dependency), known as the underclass.
• Feminists strongly criticise New Right thinkers, claiming that conservative values in the family are oppressive to women. Others criticise the New Right, claiming that state benefits are important and necessary.
• Functionalist view of family

  • Parsons - family is essential for primary socialisation process - warm bath theory
  • Murdock - 4 functions of a family - sexual, reproduction, socialisation and economic
• evaluation of functionalist

  • downplays the role of conflict in the family
  • out of date
  • deterministic
  • ignore family diversity
• Marxist view of family

  • engels - ensure wealth stays within the family through private inheritance helps maintain capitalism
  • zaretsky - cushioning effect help men have control over family
  • zaretsky - unit of consumption buy the products
  • Althusser - socialize the next generation in to the ruling class ideology and unequal social Hierachy
• evaluation of Marxist

  • Deterministic
  • Ignores family diversity
  • Negative
• Feminist view of family

  • Liberal feminism - Ann Oakley - slowly becoming equal under law
  • Radical femnist - men are the enemy and marriage and family are ways to keep the patriarchy
  • Marxist feminist - family is a tool of capitalist so its capitilism that oppresses the women - Silvia Federici - women forced in productive and reproductive labour resulting in double day
• postmodernist view of family

  • gidden and beck - traditional social structure has lost lot of influence and this caused advancements of contraception and female independence
  • Stacey - greater freedom and choice has benefited women enabling them to free from the patriarchal .
• evaluation of postmodernist

  • Exaggerates how much choice people have abot family