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Proletariat Bourgeoisie Ruling class ideology Exploitation Alienation Capitalism Capitalist Conflict Economic determinism False class consciousness Oppression Monogamous nuclear family Unit of consumption

Key Terms - Marxism

Functionalists see society as based on value consensusMarxists see society as based on an unequal conflict

between two social classes:◦ The capitalist class◦ The working class

Marxists see all societies institutions, such as the education system, media, religion and the state, along with the family as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism

The functions of the family are performed purely for the benefit of the capitalist system

Marxist Perspectives

• The key factor, according to Marxists, in shaping society is the mode of production – who controls and owns societies productive forces (tools, machinery, raw materials, land and labour)

• In modern society, it is the capitalist class that owns and controls these means of production

• As the mode of production evolves, so too does the family

Inheritance of Property

Marx called the earliest, classless society ‘primitive communism’.◦ No private property◦ All members of society owned the means of production

communally◦ No family as such:

Engels (1891; 1978) called the promiscuous hordeForces of production developed societies wealth

increasedDevelopment of private propertyClass emerged who were able to seize the means of

production

Marxism

• Monogamy became essential because of the inheritance of private property – men had to be sure of the paternity of their children to ensure the inheritance was legitimate

• The rise of the monogamous nuclear family represented a ‘world historical defeat of the female sex’ – brought the woman’s sexuality under male control and turned her into a ‘mere instrument for the production of children’

Engels

• Marxists argue that only through the overthrow of capitalism and private ownership of the means of production will women achieve liberation from patriarchal control

• Classlessness = means of production are owned collectively, not privately

• No more need for the patriarchal nuclear family (no need to transmit private property down the generations)

Emancipation

• Family today performs key ideological functions for capitalism– Ideology = set of ideas or beliefs that justify inequality

by accepting things are ‘fair’, natural or unchangeable

• Socialising children into believing hierarchy and inequality are inevitable– There is usually someone in charge (usually a man)– Prepared for a working life in which they accept

orders from their capitalist employers

Ideological Functions

• Eli Zaretsky (1976)– The family also performs an ideological function

by offering an apparent ‘haven’ from the harsh and exploitative world of capitalism

– This, however, is largely an illusion – the family cannot meet the needs of its members (based on the domestic servitude of women)

Zaretsky

• Capitalism exploits the labour of its workers selling the products for more than the pay of the workers

• The family plays a major role in this– Advertisers urge families to consume the latest

products– The media target children who use ‘pester power’

tweens– Stigmatisation of children if they do not have the

latest fashion

A Unit of Consumption

Marxists assume the nuclear family is dominant ignores the wide variety of family structures

Feminists argue that the Marxist emphasis on social class and capitalism underestimates the importance of gender inequalities within the family the family is more beneficial to men than capitalism

Functionalists argue that Marxists ignore the benefits the family provides for its members such as intimacy and mutual support

Criticisms

• Gender• Patriarchy• Reserve army of labour• Power• Triple shift• Dual burden• Patriarchal ideology• Dark side of the family

Key Terms - Feminism

• Critical view of the family• Oppresses women• Unequal division of labour• Domestic violence against women• Gender inequality created by society (not

natural or inevitable)• There are a number of versions of feminism

Feminist Perspectives