Another comparable view which both Functionalism and Marxism have on the family is about primary socialisation but however, they have contrasting views regarding the end result about primary socialisation. Functionalism sees the end result of primary socialisation benefiting society as a whole whereas Marxism sees the end result benefiting the ruling class/capitalist class.
Functionalism and Marxism both have very comparable views about nuclear family but both also have very contrasting views regarding the nuclear family as Functionalism emphasises the positive aspects of family and how nuclear family is the ideal family which is comparable to Marxism as Marxism would say that Functionalism overemphasises the positive aspects of family and ignores all the negative aspects of family for example, abuse, domestic violence etc.
An additional view which Functionalism and Marxism have a comparable view is about the economy but as before, they both have a contrasting view regarding the end result. Functionalism sees that both the family and the economy can benefit each other as the family helps the economy by being consumers and the economy benefits the family by having jobs on offer but however the way in which Marxism has a contrasting view that Marxism sees that the family helps the economy by housewives producing and raising the next generation of workers at no cost to the economy (capitalist class).
An additional comparable view which both Functionalism and Marxism have on the family but again, the end result is very contrasting. A key Functionalist contributor is a person called Murdock and he said that the family is found in all societies and it performs the same functions everywhere and that the functions are vital for maintaining consensus; sex, reproduction, economy and education (primary socialisation) which contrasts to a Marxism key contributor called Cooper who says that the family’s delivery of primary socialisation promotes the idea that, capitalist ruling class power over workers is normal and acceptable.
Overall, in conclusion, both Functionalism and Marxism start off with a comparable view with a contrasting end purpose. Functionalism and Marxism have a lot of the same ideas but emphasise on different aspects of institutions that help support the ruling class which helps the capitalist stay in power whereas in contrast to Functionalism as they emphasise the family as social institutions which helps maintain consensus. There are not a lot of contrasting views between Functionalism and Marxism but one the main ones is patriarchy (male dominance) as Marxism and Feminism are both male stream theories. Another contrasting view between Functionalism and Marxism are that both theories don’t pay much attention to the individual.
