Marxist perspective on the family

How did monogamous families emerge according to Marxists

• Engels - emergence of nuclear families

• Monogamous families only emerged with capitalism. Before capitalism traditional tribal societies were classless, where there was no private property. With the emergence of capitalism in the 18th century, capitalism is based on private ownership. Therefore, monogamous relationships ensured all private property stayed within the family. 

Criticisms of Engles

• Capitalism is due to gender inequality. Majority of tribes in Asia and Africa are patriarchal with women having no political power, cannot own their own land and have to do the most child care and physical labour. 

How is the family a unit of consumption according to Marxists?

Capitalist business owners make profit by keeping their workers' wages down. In order to do this they must make good products. Family can help with this as:

Getting influenced by good promotion on adverts and tv shows.

Pester the power of their children to buy more expensive things. 

Overall Criticisms of Marxism

• Too deterministic- It assumes people passively accept socialisation. 

• Ignores family diversity, many women now work full time as well

• Feminists argue that the marxist focus only on class and ignores gender inequalities

• Marxists ignore the benefits of a nuclear family - both parents support the children.