Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity? Over the years, government policies have been introduced which have affected the nature of several family types. These policies are mainly seen as beneficial to family life; however, sociologists such as functionalists may see it as a threat to the traditional nuclear family. One of the main families which have been affected by a number of policies is the nuclear family. One of these policies is the divorce act 1969; which has made it easier for couples to get divorced.
Labour returned to government in February 1974, and had little choice but to implement the planned reorganisation. They investigated the system of private health care with the intention of phasing out private practice from the hospital service, but this led to industrial action within the NHS, thus being one of the factors that led to a change of government, and in 1979 Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister. (Morgan
They didn’t get a majority government in 1910 like they did in 1906 which led them to think that social reform was the way to gain votes. Many politicians who came from modest backgrounds also wanted to “wage war” on poverty as they saw it as the scourge of modern day Britain and it was the governments job to fix
This restriction on the citizens goes against two of the three freedoms (social, economic, political) classical liberalism was founded on. As long as trickle-down economics is in effect the rich will only get richer at the expense of the poor “99%”. The nation needs to change for the benefit of its people, movements can bring change. A prime example of a movement bringing change to its nation is the Women’s suffrage movement. In Canada and the United States women fought for their political rights and freedoms.
We are facing a big problem in society about marriages and their stances on civil unions. The movement of same sex marriage has been in the forefront of our society for a couple of years now. On the more Conservative side, politicians are grounded with the idea that marriage should be between a man and a woman. “I view marriage as a gender-based institution that attaches mothers and fathers to each other and to their children” (Morse, 82). According to Proposition 8: The California Marriage Protection Act was a ballot proposition to help conserve the value of marriage and changing same sex marriage to be illegal.
Between 1906 and 1914, the liberal government took steps in the provisions of welfare policies in a bid to help the impoverished people of Britain. These steps indicated a move away from the non-intervention policy known as ‘laissez faire’ to a more ‘collectivist’ approach. The changes which took place signalled a huge change in attitude; the poor were no longer condemned, but were accepted as unfortunate but equal citizens, whose rights had to be acknowledged. The reforms aimed to help the young, old, unemployed and sick, as it was clear that these groups were more likely to endure poverty. Winston Churchill summed the nature of the liberal welfare reforms, ‘If we see a drowning man we do not drag him to the shore.
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. This has reduced the essential functions to two; primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personality (ibid). This stabilisation is seen as the ‘warm bath theory’, whereby the family provides a loving and supportive haven from the stresses of modern life, primarily for the patriarchal figure fulfilling the
Whereas on the other hand, feminist see the nuclear family still as the norm as they live under an oppressed government who follow the traditions of the new right where they believe in the nuclear family as the norm. we live in a patriarchal society whereby men dominate over women through marriage and wages housewives do must of the housework. (Oakley 177). Unlike feminist, Marxist believes that the nuclear family is essential in reproducing capitalist’s ideals and workforce, Engels, 1880. There has been an increase in diversity of families due to different factors.
Secondly they believe it is most important type of family as it stops deviance in children and also reduces crime caused by children. They also believe that there are some economic gains to being in a nuclear family which is that it reduces the dependency ratio of the country as both parents are capable of supporting their family, rather than depending on the government of financial support. And finally their view on divorce is that it creates an underclass of welfare- dependant female lone parent’s lone parent and leaves boys without the adult male role model they need However, postmodern sociologists support the view that family has become diverse in modern UK. They see that people have become fragmented and
The highlight is that the ideal family type in a modern society, as the nuclear family, which comprises of a breadwinner husband and dependent wife and child(ren). Cognitive dissonance theory was first posited by Leon Festinger, (1956) in his book “When Prophecy Fails”. This theory proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions due to the psychological discomfort that is caused by inconsistency among a person’s beliefs, attitudes and/or actions. Michener,M.