new right views of the nuclear family

new right views

* traditional marriage and social life is breaking down. consequently, children are poorly socialised and underachieve in school, crime is rising and more lone mother depend on the welfare state
* calls for a return to traditional family values, e.g. couples waiting to marry before having children, women focusing on raising children

murray

* an underclass has emerged in briain and us, made up of the poorest people who depend on welfare state rather than work
* murray argues that lone-parent families headed by women form a significant section of this underclass
* children growing up without a father are more likely to turn to crime
* blames this on governments have rewarded irresponsible behaviour, e.g. children outside of marriage, by giving over-generous benefits to lone mothers, creating a welfare dependency
* murray suggests that children born outside of marriage would be better being adopted than brought up by lone mothers

dennis and erdos

* children raised by single mothers on average have lower educational attainment and poorer health than children from two-parent families
* boys in particular grow up without learning that adulthood involves taking responsibility for a wife and children, so develop into immature, irresponsible and anti-social young men

criticism of the new right

* accused of thinking back to a ‘golden age’ of family life where the nuclear family was the norm. lone-parent families, cohabitation and sexual relationships have always existed but were hidden in the past
* new right see the nuclear family as superior to other families, but others argue that individuals should be free to choose whatever family works best for them
* the new right blame the ‘decline of family life’ on government policies, which have given insufficient support to married two-parent families. they also portray lone-parent and poor families in a negative light
* chambers argues that many of the fears about lone-parent families and the decline of marriage and family life are a moral panic whipped up by sections of the media and right-wing politician in the 90s