Assess The View That The Nuclear Family Is Univers

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George Murdock shows the view that the nuclear family is universal. Felicity Edholm disagrees with this statement. In this essay I will discuss both sides of this argument and come to a conclusion. In 1949, George Murdock conducted a study titled, ‘Social Structure’, and in this he studied 250 societies and decided that they all showed characteristics from the nuclear family, even though they widely varied. Murdock believes the family is a social group of people including a socially acceptable sexual relationship and children. He also says that in some of these societies, the kinship is larger than normal. Some sociologists believe this means he is considering a polygamous family. They also suggest Murdock is talking about extended families. Extended families would naturally fit into his definition of the nuclear family as it is an extension, and in no way does it change the overall concept. The idea that the nuclear family is universal is said to be because the family serves four essential functions. These include sexual, reproductive, economic and education. Therefore, he believes the family includes a sexual relationship, provides the next generation of society, acts as an economic unit and socialises children into the culture of their society. To sum up, Murdock feels strongly that the family is certainly universal as neither the individual or the society could survive without it. On the other hand, Felicity Edholm disagrees with Murdock and states the nuclear family is not universal. This statement comes from her work, ‘The Unnatural Family’, written in 1982. In ‘The Unnatural Family’, Edholm describes ways in which the functions mentioned by Murdock are carried out in different societies. For example, Murdock believes that the nuclear family supports both the individual and the society. However, Edholm believes that it is the culture that families live in

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