Functionalist and Marxist Perspectives on the Family
Functionalists and Marxists both treat the family as an institution shaped by the wider needs of society, but disagree sharply about whose interests it serves. Murdock's comparative study of over two hundred societies concluded the nuclear family performs four essential functions for society: stable satisfaction of the sex drive, reproduction, socialisation of the young into shared norms and values, and economic cooperation between members. Parsons narrows this to two 'irreducible' functions in modern industrial society, primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities, arguing the family acts as a 'warm bath', where a supportive home environment relieves the stresses adults absorb at work so they can return refreshed. Marxists reject this functionalist harmony, arguing instead the family serves capitalism's needs. Engels traced monogamous marriage historically to the emergence of private property, arguing men needed a reliable way to pass wealth to their own biological heirs, so monogamy served an economic, not a natural, purpose. Zaretsky extends this, arguing the family absorbs and privatises the frustrations capitalism creates at work, offering an illusion of a separate, comforting refuge that in fact helps sustain a system generating those very frustrations, while also functioning as a unit of consumption that buys the products capitalism produces.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Contrast the two perspectives directly: functionalists ask what functions the family performs for society as a whole and treat this positively, while Marxists ask whose interests the family serves and treat the same functions as serving capitalism rather than society neutrally.
- State Murdock's four functions precisely: stable satisfaction of the sex drive, reproduction, socialisation, and economic cooperation, and note his claim they are found, in some form, across the very wide range of societies he surveyed.
- State Parsons's 'functional fit' argument precisely: he argues the nuclear family, rather than the pre-industrial extended family, fits a modern industrial economy that needs a geographically and socially mobile workforce, unencumbered by wide extended obligations.
- Explain the 'warm bath' theory as Parsons's account of the stabilisation of adult personalities function: the family offers emotional support that relieves the stress and tension adults experience at work, allowing them to return to work refreshed rather than fundamentally challenging the source of that stress.
- Use Engels's argument precisely: monogamous marriage emerged to let men be certain of their biological heirs so private property could be passed on reliably, making monogamy a historical, economic arrangement rather than a natural human instinct.
- Use Zaretsky's argument precisely: the family functions as an apparently separate, private refuge from work, but this privatised comfort actually helps sustain capitalism by absorbing discontent that might otherwise be directed at the economic system itself, and the family also consumes capitalism's products as a unit.
- When an item gives a specific family practice or claim, identify whether it better illustrates a functionalist function or a Marxist critique before building your answer, since the same practice (e.g. family holidays as consumption) can be read very differently by each perspective.
- Evaluate functionalism by noting it assumes family life is beneficial for all members without examining power or conflict within the family, and evaluate the Marxist view by noting it explains capitalist societies but says less about family forms in non-capitalist or pre-capitalist contexts.
Worked example
Item A: A market research report found that households with children under sixteen spent a significantly higher proportion of their income on branded toys, electronic devices and family holidays than households without children, and that television advertising aimed at children had grown substantially in the same period. Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, analyse two ways Marxists explain the role of the family in a capitalist society. (10 marks)
- Identify the item's evidence: higher spending by families with children on branded goods and holidays, alongside growing advertising aimed at children.
- Build the first way from the item using Zaretsky's unit-of-consumption idea: the family, especially one with children, is a key consumer of capitalism's products, and growing child-targeted advertising shows businesses actively cultivating this function.
- Build the second way from the item using the ideological dimension of Zaretsky's argument: presenting spending on toys, devices or holidays as an expression of family love and care disguises its function in sustaining demand for capitalist production, making consumption feel personal and emotional rather than economically functional.
- Add one line of development: this differs sharply from a functionalist reading of the same evidence, which would treat such spending simply as families meeting children's needs rather than serving a wider economic function.
- Check both points are drawn directly from the item's evidence rather than a general account of Marxist theory.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1State Murdock's four functions of the family.Show answer
Answer: Stable satisfaction of the sex drive, reproduction, socialisation of the young, and economic cooperation between members.
Q2What are Parsons's two 'irreducible' functions of the modern nuclear family?Show answer
Answer: Primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities.
Q3Explain Parsons's 'warm bath' theory.Show answer
Answer: The idea that the family offers emotional support and relief that allows adults to recover from the stresses of work, returning them refreshed, like a warm bath washing away tension, rather than removing the source of the stress itself.
Q4What did Engels argue about the historical origin of monogamous marriage?Show answer
Answer: That it emerged alongside private property, so men could be certain of their biological heirs and pass on their wealth reliably, making monogamy an economic arrangement rather than a natural instinct.
Q5Explain Zaretsky's argument that the family is a 'unit of consumption'.Show answer
Answer: The family buys the goods and services capitalism produces, so its economic role includes sustaining demand for capitalist production, not only providing emotional support to its members.
Q6Give one criticism of the functionalist view of the family.Show answer
Answer: It assumes family life benefits all members equally and ignores conflict or unequal power within families, such as between men and women or between parents and children.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Sociology exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Outline two functions of the family according to Murdock.
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Item B: A sociologist observed that in several households, parents described their evenings at home with their children as 'a chance to switch off from work', while also noting that most of these same parents returned to demanding jobs the next morning without any change to their working conditions. Applying material from Item B, analyse two ways Zaretsky's theory explains this pattern. (10 marks)
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Item C: Some sociologists argue the family exists because it performs essential, universal functions, such as socialising children and providing emotional support, that any stable society needs. Others argue the family's apparent role as a private, supportive refuge in fact serves to sustain an economic system that depends on a compliant, consuming workforce. Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate functionalist and Marxist explanations of the role of the family. (20 marks)
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See real A Level Sociology past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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