Examine Sociological View of the Way Social Policies May Influence Families and Households. (24 Marks)

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Examine sociological view of the way social policies may influence families and households. (24 Marks) Social policies are the laws and practices put in place by the government that effect social issues, in this case the family. Although sociologists agree that social policies have an influence on family life, they hold different views about what kinds of effects it had and whether these are desirable. For example, in the 1930’s the Nazi government in Germany wanted to encourage Aryan families and put in place policies that involved sterilising certain groups to prevent them from having children. More recently in China they have a one child policy, if individuals have more than one child the government have put in place a series of penalties to try and control their population. Functionalists see society as built on harmony and shared values and free from major conflicts. They see the state and its policies as acting in the interests of society as a whole and benefitting all, they believe policies help families perform their functions effectively and make life better. Ronald Fletcher argues that the introduction of health, education and housing policies has led to the development of a welfare state that supports the family in performing its functions more effectively eg NHS means that doctors, nurses, hospitals and medicines take care of its members when they are sick. However, feminists believe the functionalist views assumes that all members of the family benefit, whereas feminists argue that policies benefit men at the expense of women. Feminists take a conflict view, they see society as patriarchal. They argue all social institutions including policies help maintain women’s subordinate position and the unequal gender division of labour in the family. They argue social policies are base on assumptions about what the normal family is. Eg if the state
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