According to the functionalist sociologist the family is key institution of society, as it performs vital functions for the maintenance of society

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The family is a unique part of society, which is found in every country and culture in the world, however some sociologist may say it is impossible to define the family, as there many different forms of family across the world. According to the functionalist sociologist the family is key institution of society, as it performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefits of all the individual members, therefore the functionalist believe the society is a useful system made up of different part of sub system that depends on each other such as the family, the education system and the economy. Moreover Functionalists take a consensus view of the role of the family, as they see it as universal institution that performs essentials functions for the society as a whole.

Functionalists see society as being like a living organism, made up of many different parts which all perform particular functions. In 1949, George Peter Murdock (functionalist) analysed societies across the world and came up with four basic functions, which he said all families in all societies performed. The first function is the sexual function, meaning that sex outside of marriage is limited in some way, which stabilises the society and can prevent conflict. Secondly, the family fulfils the reproductive function, as it is the main context for children to born and brought up. This is vital for society to continue. The family also fulfils an economic function, either as production or consumption. The final function fulfilled by the family according to Murdock is education, where it is vital for children to be taught the norms and values of the society in which they live, therefore it is important that these are taught to keep the value of the society functioning properly and to avoid conflicts. Murdock concluded that there are other social institution which fulfil each of these function, but ‘no society has succeed in finding adequate substitute for the nuclear family’ to which it might transfer these functions. However, critics have shown that Murdock’s view on the nuclear family is not as essential as he claimed that the nuclear family is universal, whilst only studying 250 societies. Interpretivist argue that Murdock fails to acknowledge that families are the products of culture therefore the family role will be different forms within the same society e.g. different attitudes towards bringing up children in the UK, than other aspects of world. Other sociologist have also criticised Murdock’s functionalist approach such as the Marxist and feminist reject his ‘rose-tinted’ harmonious consensus view that the family meets the needs of both wider society and all member of the family, they suggest that functionalist neglects vital conflict and exploitation.

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Apart from the function identified by Murdock, the family may meet other vital needs too, for example, it may perform welfare, military, political or regions functions. In 1959 Talcott Parsons (functionalist) also focussed on modern American society, looking at its functions in industrial and pre-industrial society.  In contrast to Murdock, Parsons argued that the family retains two basic functions which are common to family in all societies. The first of these is the primary socialisation of children, which take place in the early years of their childhood, this is essential, as the family moulds the child’s personality to fit the ...

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