Discuss the view that the family in modern Britain is an institution that functions for the benefit of its members, and for society as a whole.

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Margaret Houghton        Sociology of Modern Britain        ACHE Social Science

        December 2005

Discuss the view that the family in modern Britain is an institution that functions for the benefit of its members, and for society as a whole.

In order to discuss the view that the family in modern Britain is an institution that functions for the benefit of its members, and for society as a whole it is first necessary to examine and evaluate views from functionalists such as George Peter Murdock and Talcott Parsons that support the statement at issue.  It is also necessary to examine and evaluate views which challenge the statement at issue that come from the Marxists, Friedrich Engels and Eli Zaretsky, the New Right and the Marxists-feminists and the radical feminists, as well as looking at the studies of ‘the dark side’ of family life such as domestic violence.

Morgan (1975) acknowledged four attitudes that may be adopted when describing and evaluating the modern family.  The first attitude is that the family is in decline and the claim that this is good, which is a view that is associated with Shorter (1977).  The second is a viewpoint of the ‘new right’ and that is the family is in decline and that this is one of the main causes of social problems.  The third attitude comes from the Marxist and the Marxist-feminists and they argue that the family is relatively strong and this is bad.  However the fourth attitude is associated with the functionalists who claim that the family is thriving and that this is good.  It is also this view that ‘march of progress’ theorists put forward throughout the first few decades of the post war period.  They claimed that the family was a thriving institution in modern society, and that this was good.  The ‘march of progress’ view corresponds with the statement at issue.

As mentioned above, functionalists agree with the statement at issue, that the family is thriving and this is good.  Murdock (1949) argued that the nuclear family is a universal phenomenon that has certain basic functions.  Murdock claimed ‘the family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic cooperation and reproduction.  It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of the sexually cohabiting adults.’  Murdock’s belief in the universality of the family was based on a survey of 250 societies which found that although there were a variety of family forms, all forms contained the basis of the nuclear family, which was found in all societies.  Murdock claimed that no other institution could carry out the social and psychological functions of the family, these functions being: sexual, economic, reproduction and socialisation.  It was argued by Murdock that the sexual drive is such a powerful impulse that it could not be left without restraint.  Murdock also argued that the family is characterised by economic co-operation and in many societies, the family is a ‘unit of production’ i.e. producing goods, however in some societies, especially the west, the family acts a ‘unit of consumption’ i.e. buying goods for the family.  The family is the ideal unit for reproduction to ensure the continuance of society.  In addition to this, the family also has the responsibility to undertake the socialisation of the child during its period of dependency.  Murdock believed that there is no substitute for the nuclear family, which performs these four ‘vital functions’.  

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Furthermore, Parsons (1959) argues that the functions of the family have been reduced since the pre-industrial period due to these being taken over by specialised institutions e.g. schools are responsible for educating children.  However, according to Parsons the family has retained two functions, the first being ‘primary socialisation’ which Parson argues is the most important, as everyone must learn the shared values and norms of society; without this, social life would not be possible.  The second function is ‘the stabilisation of adult personalities’ which Parsons claims the family does in two ways: the first is as marital partners providing ...

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