Marxist Perspectives on the Family

Marxist Views of The Family / Revision . Mock Exam: Edu and Res Methods Part 1 • Marxist Views of the Family with newspaper collage activity • Revision : Education • Mock Exam (1 hour)

Marxist Perspectives on the Family An introduction to Marxism and family sociology

The importance of Frederick Engels • Marx himself didn’t pay much attention to the role of the family • It was his friend and collaborated Engels who attempted to trace the evolution of the family through time in “The Origin of the Family”

Engels’ Conclusions 1 • The monogamous bourgeois nuclear family developed to help solve the problem of the inheritance of private property – men needed to know who their children were in order to pass on their property to their heirs • The family is therefore designed to control women and protect property

Engels’ Conclusions 2

• The bourgeios nuclear family emerged with capitalism • It is patriarchal – it is designed to guarantee and perpetuate male power through the inheritance of property • It therefore serves the interests of capitalism • Nuclear family is ideal for and benefits, the ruling class* • Ideological state apparatus (conditioning device).*

The Family and Ideological State Apparatus • Reading the newspapers, cut and paste the articles that you feel reflect the ideological state apparatus in or over the family. • Create a collage and label the items that you use • Consider: • Consumer advertising aimed at nuclear families. Materialism –latest products for home. • Patriarchal system – encourages passive acceptance of authority, hierarchy and inequality (gender roles in family) • edia imagery of family roles. ‘The ideal family’

Marxists say the family serve capitalism is 4 ways • The family socialises children – thereby reproducing both labour power and an acceptance of capitalism (false consciousness). • Women’s domestic work is unpaid which benefits capitalism. • The family acts as a safety valves for the stresses and frustrations of working class men. • The family as a unit of consumption buys the goods and services provided by capitalism.

Zaretsky • Zaretsky claimed the family “props up” capitalism • The family is one place where male workers can feel they have power and control. This helps them accept their oppression in wider society • * Alternative argument to ‘warm bath theory (Parsons)

Criticisms of Marxist View • Anthropologists have suggested that the emergence of the nuclear family didn’t actually coincide with the emergence of capitalism • The Marxist view ignores family diversity. It sees the nuclear family as being simply determined by the economy.

Revision- Education •

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Functionalist, Marxist Views of The Family / Revision . Mock Exam: Edu and Res Methods Part 1 Marxist, Feminist, New Right (Post Modern) views of family Internal factors: Hargreaves - Streaming Keddie/ Ball –Labelling (other in school factors: teaching) Cultural: Douglas: Material Deprivation Bordieu: Cultural deprivation / home factors/ High and Low culture Bernstein: language factors Pupil S Subcultures: Beach, Willis. External Factors: Race, gender (Feminist views), Social Class, Region Changes to UK education system –key dates (tripartite, comprehensive, selective) Recent changes : new Right, New Labour ( Vocationalism, third way)