Marxist Perspective of the Family

See capitalist society as based on unequal conflict between two social classes:
1. The capitalist class - who own the means of production.
2. The working class - whose labour the capitalists exploit for profit.
See all society's institutions (education, media, religion, state, family) as helping maintain class inequality and capitalism
Have identified several functions that they see the family as fulfilling for capitalism:
1. Inheritance of Property
2. Ideological Functions
3. A Unit of Consumption
Criticisms of the Marxist Perspective
1. Tend to assume that the nuclear family is dominant in capitalist society, ignoring the wide and increasing variety of family structures found in today's society
2. Feminists argue that they emphasis on social class and capitalism underestimates the importance of gender inequalities
3. Functionalists argue they ignore the very real benefits that the family provides for its members e.g. intimacy and mutual support

Resource summary

	Created by orlaghemmett almost 11 years ago