Fucntionalist Contribution To Our Understand Of Fa

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Functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family Within sociology there are many different views on family whether it is a positive or negative part of society which includes functionalism, New Right, Critical views, Feminism and Marxism. They have a different functionalist contribution to our understanding of the family. Functionalist view the family as an institution which improves society by obtaining equilibrium, social order and stability while at the same time meeting the needs of all the member in society. They see the nuclear as positive fort society. For example, Murdock saw the family as reproducing the next generation and socializing them into the shared culture. He also saw the family as meeting its member’s economic needs and satisfying adult’s sexual needs in a way that does not disrupt social order. However, his belief that its remaining functions are 'basic and irreducible' prevents him from examining alternatives. Significant to his criticism, his view of socialization can be questioned. He sees it as a one-way process, with the children being pumped full of culture and their personalities being moulded by powerful parents. He tends to ignore the two-way process between parents and children. Lastly, Parsons sees the family as a distinct institution that is clearly separated from other aspects of social life. Some contemporary perspectives on the family deny that such clear-cut boundaries can be established. The family as such cannot therefore be seen as performing any particular functions on its own in isolation from other institutions. The criticism of functionalism is that they ignore the conflict and abuse within families, rising divorce rates and family diversity. The New Right have similar views to Functionalist as they believe that nuclear family very important to society. Single parents and same sex couples are seen as bad
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