Marxist and Feminist Views of the Family

While functionalists and the New Right view the family as a broadly positive institution, Marxists and feminists offer sharply critical perspectives. Both see the family as a site of inequality and exploitation — but they disagree about the primary source of that inequality. For Marxists, it is class; for feminists, it is gender. Understanding these perspectives is essential for AQA A-Level Sociology (7192).

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The Marxist Perspective on the Family

Marxism is a conflict theory that sees society as based on the exploitation of the working class (proletariat) by the capitalist class (bourgeoisie). The family is not a neutral, harmonious institution — it serves the interests of capitalism.

Engels (1884): The Origin of the Family

Friedrich Engels (1884), Marx's collaborator, argued in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State that the family as we know it emerged alongside private property.

• In early classless societies (primitive communism), there was no private property, no family in the modern sense, and sexual relations were relatively unrestricted (a state Engels called "promiscuous hordes").
• With the development of private property (land, livestock, tools), men needed to control women's sexuality to ensure the legitimacy of heirs — they needed to know that their property would be inherited by their biological children.
• The monogamous nuclear family therefore emerged as a mechanism for ensuring the inheritance of property from father to son. The family is, in origin, an institution of male dominance and female oppression.

Key Quote — Engels (1884): "The modern individual family is founded on the open or concealed domestic slavery of the wife... the first class oppression coincides with that of the female sex by the male."

Zaretsky (1976): The Family as a Haven — and Its Limitations

Eli Zaretsky (1976) argued that the family serves capitalism in several ways:

1. Absorbing anger — The family provides a private, personal sphere where workers can feel valued and in control, compensating for the alienation and exploitation they experience at work. This acts as a "safety valve" — workers take out their frustrations within the family rather than challenging the capitalist system.

2. Reproducing labour power — The family produces the next generation of workers and socialises them into accepting the norms and values of capitalist society — obedience, hard work, respect for authority.

3. Illusion of a private life — Zaretsky argued that the family creates an illusion that personal life is separate from capitalism. In reality, the family is thoroughly shaped by capitalism — its structure, values, and daily routines are all determined by the demands of the capitalist economy.

The Ideological Function of the Family

Marxists argue that the family performs a crucial ideological function — it socialises children into accepting inequality as natural and inevitable. Through the family, children learn:

• To respect authority (parents, then teachers, then employers)
• To accept hierarchy as natural
• To value private property and competition
• To conform to the norms and values that serve capitalism

Louis Althusser (1971) identified the family as one of the key Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) — institutions that maintain ruling-class power not through force but through ideology.

The Family as a Unit of Consumption

Marxists also emphasise the family's role as a unit of consumption. The family:

• Buys goods and services produced by capitalist enterprises — housing, food, clothing, entertainment, insurance
• Is targeted by advertising that creates artificial "needs" and encourages spending
• Drives the consumer economy, generating profits for the bourgeoisie
• Keeps up with social expectations ("keeping up with the Joneses"), ensuring continued demand for consumer goods

Evaluation of the Marxist Perspective

Strengths	Limitations
Highlights how the family serves the interests of the capitalist economy	Economically deterministic — reduces family life to economics, ignoring emotional bonds, love, and personal choice
Explains the ideological role of the family in reproducing class inequality	Ignores gender inequality within the family — feminists argue that Marxism fails to explain why women, specifically, are exploited within the family
Zaretsky shows how the family absorbs discontent that might otherwise challenge capitalism	Romanticises pre-capitalist families — Engels assumes that pre-capitalist societies were egalitarian, but anthropological evidence is mixed
Draws attention to the family as a unit of consumption in a consumer society	Functionalists argue that the family benefits all members, not just capitalism. Socialisation transmits shared values, not ruling-class ideology
	Postmodernists argue that class is no longer the primary determinant of family life — identity, culture, and individual choice are more important

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The Feminist Perspective on the Family

Feminism is a broad perspective united by the conviction that women are disadvantaged and oppressed in society, and that the family is a key institution in which this oppression is produced and reproduced. However, different strands of feminism offer different analyses.

Liberal Feminism

Liberal feminists argue that gender inequality in the family is gradually being overcome through changes in law, policy, and attitudes. They focus on: