This document discusses Marxist perspectives on the family. Key points include: Marxists see society as based on unequal class conflict between the capitalist class and working class. The family serves capitalist interests by socializing children into accepting inequality and consuming products. The nuclear family form arose to legitimize inheritance of private property but oppresses women. Marxists argue the family will be liberated when capitalism is overthrown and private property abolished.

1.  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

2. Functionalists see society as based on value consensus
Marxists 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

3. • 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

4. 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 horde
Forces of production developed  societies wealth
increased
Development of private property
Class emerged who were able to seize the means of
production
Marxism

6. • 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

7. • 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

8. • 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

9. • 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

10. • 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

11. 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

12. • Gender
• Patriarchy
• Reserve army of labour
• Power
• Triple shift
• Dual burden
• Patriarchal ideology
• Dark side of the family
Key Terms - Feminism

13. • 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