Marxist Perspective of the Family (AQA A Level Sociology): Revision Note

Marxist views of the family

• Marxists take a critical view of the nuclear family, arguing it serves the interests of capitalism and helps maintain class inequality

• They believe the family performs negative functions for society and, in particular, for the working class

Inheritance of private property

• Engels (1884) argued that the nuclear family developed alongside capitalism and private property

• The monogamous nuclear family ensured wealth could be passed to biological heirs, preserving ruling-class privilege

• This system reinforced class inequality and marked what Engels called the "world historical defeat of the female sex", as it entrenched patriarchal control over women

• Marxists believe that when capitalism is overthrown and private property is abolished, the patriarchal nuclear family will no longer be needed

Zaretsky's theory of the family

• Zaretsky identified three functions of the family that support capitalism:

Socialisation of children

• Zaretsky (1976) argued that the family socialises children into accepting capitalist ideology

  • Children are taught values to prepare them for exploitation in the workplace, such as

    • blind obedience,

    • acceptance of hierarchy and

    • respect for authority

  • Children are socialised into accepting inequality and patriarchy as natural

• The family, therefore, transmits ruling-class values to maintain false consciousness

Stabilisation of adult personality

• The family produces obedient and passive workers who don’t challenge inequality

• The family acts as a 'safe haven' from the alienation of work, giving workers an illusion of comfort

• This function relies heavily on the exploitation of women’s domestic labour

Unit of consumption

• Capitalism encourages families to consume goods, boosting profits for businesses

  • Parents feel pressured to buy the latest items for their children to avoid stigma

  • Children use ‘pester power’ to influence spending decisions

• Evans and Chandler (2006) found that:

  • Children without branded goods faced bullying

  • Mothers felt financial pressure to meet children’s consumer demands, even if it strained their finances

Evaluation of the Marxist perspective

Strengths

• Historical perspective

  • Marxism highlights how family structures change depending on economic systems, e.g., from pre-industrial extended families to nuclear families during industrialisation

• Ideological function

  • Marxists such as Althusser argue that the family acts as an Ideological State Apparatus (ISA), socialising children into capitalist values such as obedience and respect for authority

  • This helps maintain false class consciousness and supports the continuation of capitalism

• Recognises exploitation within the family

  • Marxist feminists like Benston show how women’s unpaid domestic labour reproduces the labour force cheaply, revealing how the family benefits capitalism while oppressing women

  • This offers an intersectional view of class and gender exploitation

Criticisms

• Too negative

  • Many people are satisfied with family life and see marriage and having children as goals in life

  • The Marxist view ignores the benefits that families can provide for members, e.g., emotional support and stability

• Ignores family diversity

  • Marxists assume all families support capitalism in the same way, but this overlooks the variety of family structures and experiences

  • E.g., lone-parent families may lack the resources to consume heavily, and family roles differ across class, culture, and personal choice

• Outdated theory

  • Engels’ theory is based on historical speculation

    • Monogamy wasn’t necessarily created for inheritance

    • Nuclear families continue to exist even in non-capitalist (communist) societies

• Functionalist critique

  • Functionalists argue that the family performs vital functions for both society and the individual, not just capitalism

  • They see the family as a key institution that promotes social harmony and value consensus, rather than merely serving capitalist interests

• Feminist critique

  • Some feminists argue that Marxists focus too much on class and ignore the patriarchal nature of the family, which disadvantages women

  • They believe the family primarily serves male dominance by reinforcing traditional gender roles and burdening women with unpaid domestic labour