Murdock argues that the nuclear family is the most practical institution in performing all four functions as well as it being wholly universal. However, criticisms of Murdock’s functionalist theory include the fact other institutions are able to perform these functions adequately. For example, the socialisation of the young could be achieved through school and education. Furthermore, Murdock is criticized for his ‘rose-tinted’, overly optimistic, harmonious consensus view that the nuclear family meets the needs of both wider society and members of the family. Feminists and Marxists recognise the conflict and exploitation in a family and wider society.
George Peter Murdock found that nuclear families are universal. He also believed in 4 function of the family. These included of the nuclear family supplying a sexual function, as being a couple stabilises satisfaction of the sex drive with a constant partner and prevents social disruption, too supplies a reproductive function as being a family ensures new members of society to keep society going and an educational function as parents socialise their young into the norms and values of society. Also, he believes that the family have an economic function as they meet the economic needs of food and shelter. However, Murdock’s view of the nuclear family eliminate any other family structures, which too are able to supply these functions, and also neglects the conflict and exploitation of family.
The scientist is important to the civilization and should be on the bunker because he will know how to distribute the items that happen to be left over. The scientist’s views come from the theory of Fiscal Federalism. This is a system which, “…different groups living in various states to express different preferences to public services; and this, inevitably, leads to differences in levels of taxation and public services” (Mushgrave). This theory suggests that people are granted the opportunities to live how they want to live; however they will have to pay for certain luxuries of life. The more money an individual has, the better public services that individual will
Outline and explain whether the Nuclear family can be seen as universal [15 marks] It is suggested that the Nuclear family is universal as it is promoted as the ‘right’ family type through mass media programmes such as the simpsons, the flintstones and so on. Sociologists study the family because it is the main agent of primary socialisation and it forms one of the central experiences of an individual’s life. Functionalist sociologist George Murdock expresses that he feels strongly that the nuclear family is certainly universal as neither the individual or the society could survive without it. .In 1949, functionalist sociologist George Murdock defined the nuclear family as a social group characterized by economic cooperation, common residence and reproduction. It also includes a sexual relationship and one of more children, own or adopted, of the sexual cohabiting adults.
Murdock – argues that the family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and it members. 1) Stable satisfaction of the sex drive – with the same partner, which prevents a social disruption 2) Reproduction of the next generation – without which society wouldn’t continue 3) Socialisation of the young – into society’s shared norms and values 4) Meeting its members economic needs – such as food and shelter Murdock argues that these four factors explains why having a nuclear family is universal Criticisms of Murdock Other sociologists argue that other institutions or non nuclear family structures could equally performs these functions, not just nuclear families. Feminists argue that they see the family as serving the needs of men and oppressing women. Parsons functional fit theory Parsons distinguishes two family structures Nuclear family – just parents and dependent children Non Nuclear family – three generations living under the same roof Parsons argues that the particular structure and functions of a given type of family will ‘fit’ the needs of the society in which it is found. According to Murdock there are two basic types of society -Modern industrial family: nuclear family -Pre industrial family: extended family A geographically mobile workforce -Parsons argues that it is easier for the nuclear family to move.
Another group is the Feminists who have different groups within them, some with very optimistic views, some with views that will agree with Marxists or some who will have their own ideologies and ways to demolish the generic nuclear family. This essay will explore the different functions performed by the family and see how that benefits individuals and society; whether that’s in a bad way or a good way. Functionalists believe that the family provides many functions for the individual and for society. Parsons and Murdock, two functionalists believe that the family is the primary agent of socialisation for an individual; the family is an important organ in the body of society. Murdock saw the family, the nuclear family in particular, an absolute need for society and he considered the four basic functions of the family to be the sexual, the reproductive, the socialisation and the economic.
Functionalists claim that society is a system with each part making-up the whole through a system of interdependence. The harmony and cooperation that is paramount to this view is maintained through value consensus. That is, for society to be successful, ordered and integrated, everyone must agree on what is important and good, achieved by teaching and promoting shared values which create a common identity (ibid). Murdock (1949) states that families perform four essential functions; regulating and stabilising sexual relationships; reproduction through procreation; economic provision and primary socialisation (ibid). Parsons (1955) argues that nuclear families in post-industrialised societies, are more ‘specialised’ and isolated, particularly as independent units of consumption, due to factors such as increased geographical mobility and the breakdown of the extended family.
Functionalist theory and the family The functionalist perspective of the family is focused on how it contributes functionally to the harmony of the society to which it belongs. A study conducted on 250 families by George P Murdoch in 1949 led him to postulate that the family has four functions that serve to maintain harmony in society: the sexual, reproductive, economic and educational function. According to Murdoch the sexual function serves to regulate sexual activity and so maintains the nuclear family and consequently social stability; the reproductive function adds members to perpetuate society; The economic function is the gender assigned division of labour between spouses. This cooperation strengthens the bond between them and contributes to social cohesion. The educational function teaches the norms and values of
These studies refer to the change of the family form from an extended family to an `isolated nuclear family`, the movement from a rural area to an urban area and from agriculture system to the mass production of goods in a factory system. In view of all this however what can be said is that industrialization changed the family by converting it from a unit of production into a unit of consumption. First work to be referring to is that of Talcott Parsons in his study “the isolated nuclear family”, in which he claims that the isolated nuclear families are needed for industrial societies because they provide a more geographically mobile work force then the extended family. The second work to be referring to is that of Michael Young and Peter Wilmott in the “the symmetrical family” book, in which they suggest that the family has gone through four main stages to develop into a symmetrical family in which industrialization separated home and work and created male bread winner role. final work to be referring to is that of Michael Anderson in which he studied `the town of Preston in 1851s census data`, and argues that the extended family was mostly found between poor families.
Such statistics reveal the familial roots behind bullying. The structural change of the family throughout history has also had an effect. The nuclear family was idealized by developing industrial