Engels

• Marxists


  Agree with functionalists that the family performs important functions for society
• Marxists


  See the family as performing functions for capitalism and the ruling class, rather than for the whole of society
• Friedrich Engels (1884): 'The main role of the contemporary family was to keep wealth and property within the ruling class by ensuring that it is passed down the family line'
• The modern family is based on legal contracts (marriage) that ensure that the property of wealthy men passes down their blood lines