Using Material from Item 2b and Elsewhere, Assess the...

Each group in society has a different idea on what the main role of the family is. As Item 2B says, â€Å"Marxists see all social institutions as serving the interests of capitalism.† This includes the family, and they say that it serves the interests of capitalism by maintaining and justifying class inequality and exploitation by the rich. Other groups, however, have different opinions, such as Functionalists who think that the family performs essential needs of society. Marxists and Functionalists opinions are completely contrasted, as Marxists think that we live in a Capitalist society based on unequal conflict between the classes, whilst Functionalists see society as based on â€Å"value consensus†, where everyone agrees. The family is an†¦show more content†¦It is easier for a nuclear family to move for work if they need to, than it would be for an extended family. In the past it wasn’t problematic because big families often stayed on one farm their whole life but in a modern industrial society people often have to move for work. The second, a â€Å"socially mobile workforce†. In today’s society, Parsons said that each person’s status is achieved by effort and ability rather than being ascribed by background. This enables them to be socially mobile, or able to â€Å"climb the ladder†. The nuclear family is therefore better because it can avoid any conflict that may arise between a father, whose ascribed status is head of the household, and a son who has higher achieved status than his dad does, if they lived in the same house. He also intoduced the â€Å"warm bath† theory which shows that the family can be a refuge for emotional support, for example a husband taking his strains from work home where his family act as the â€Å"warm bath† , so that he is able to continue contributing to society, although this doesn’t neccesarily mean contributing to capitalism, just contributing positively to society. Parsons and Murdocks ideas can be criticised because they are both quite old, Murdocks in 1949 and Parsons in 1955. They can also be criticised for favouring the nuclear family too much, as in you don’t need a nuclear family to perform all four of Murdock’s functions, such as reproduction. So, whilst there isShow MoreRelatedSociology5053 Words   |  21 PagesPossible sociology questions January 2012 Item 2A Sociologists analyse the domestic division of labour in many different ways. Parsons describes the division of labour in the traditional nuclear family in terms of an expressive role and an instrumental role. However, this traditional arrangement may have changed as families have changed, and many feminists use the term ‘dual burden’ to describe the woman’s role in the family today. Item 2B Government policies and laws include tax and benefit