New right thinkers however; believe that these laws undermine the traditional male dominance in families, but many believe these new policies for women and children strengthen the family rather than weaken it. Sociologists such as new right thinkers argue that the Labour party has constructed a ‘nanny state’ which over-intervenes in personal living arrangements. The Labour party have constructed many laws beneficial for women in families as they have realised most families now rely of two
Outline and assess functionalist and new right views on the family This essay aims to explore the views of the functionalist and new rights approach on the family. Functionalists argue that the family is the most important institution in society as it benefits both the individual and society. They have the most positive view on the family, and state that it performs vital functions for the maintenance of society. Their main emphasis is on the nuclear family which is the stereotypical family of married, heterosexual parents with children - they tend to ignore any other family types. The approach presents the family as a family isolated from wider kinships because of the mobility required by labour markets in industrial societies.
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.
They believe, like conservatives and new rightist, that the nuclear family is the best form of socialisation and avoiding crime. Another right realist, Charles Murray, believes that the rising crime rates may be due to a rising ‘underclass’, those who are defined by deviant behaviour and fail to socialise their children properly. Right realists also think that the state plays a big part in the rates of crime. As people can rely on the state to provide them with money people are less encouraged to go out and work to earn their money, fathers no longer need to support their children as lone parents can live off benefits, therefore decreasing the rates of marriage and the amount of nuclear families which the right realists believe lacks
Question: Laws relating to family situations are becoming more difficult to determine because of the difficulty in defining ‘family’. Explain how the laws have had to change to reflect changing social values about families. It is thus difficult in modern times to define what a family is. Society of the past always thought that a family did consist only of parents and their children who are blood related but now, through many technological and political influences, society have changed which dramatically affects the structure of the family. The family structure can be affected by the proliferation of divorce.
New right believe that the incline in family diversity and a decline in the nuclear family is a cause of many social problems. They believe that the increase in family diversity is the reason for economic problems. New right believe that the nuclear family or ‘cereal packet’ family as the most suitable family type. New right believe that the nuclear family is the most suitable family type because, firstly because it allows proper socialisation of children. Secondly they believe it is most important type of family as it stops deviance in children and also reduces crime caused by children.
This is mainly because of the decline of extended families which isolated the nuclear family. Leach argued on the fact that households and families became isolated and separated from the community and from wider kin,with family members spending more time together in home-centred activities. But why does Leach believe the family is dysfunctional , when the family members are actually spending more time together therefore supposedly be more united? Leach believed that by the isolation from its kin and community there Is an overload of pressure. this overload might be caused by the fact that family members heading back home after a stressful day at work or school,were it is expected a lot from them, will eventually release their frustration.
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.
Many people believe that the family should be nuclear and the male should be the main economic provider with the woman spending most time at home and taking care of the children, this is a functionalist point of view, who believe that the nuclear family is the best type of family and childcare is less important than financial income. One of the main factors affecting the division between genders is societies view on men and women. Pink and blue jobs are a good example of how the division is set, women would do pink jobs which included maids and domestic workers and men would do blue jobs which would include more manual labouring jobs and jobs that required a higher level of intellect. Even nowadays these are still referred to, In the United States, a pink-collar worker performs jobs in the service industry. In contrast, a blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs skilled or unskilled manual labor.
Functionalists believe that the family teaches particularistic norms, which are specific household rules (e.g. praying at a certain time) and a part of primary socialisation. This is definitely a function preformed by the family but may not be a universal function as some families may not have household rules. Despite this, functionalists also believe that there are univolistic roles which apply to everyone and are not performed by the family but are performed by other institutions like politics and the media. This could be argued as a loss of a function of the family to other institutions of the family.