Family- Basic Theories

Question 1

Zaretsky on Economy & Family

3 points

Answer 1

1. unpaid labour of housewives
2. unit of consumption
3. cannot be enough compensation for the brutal forces of alienation in capitalism

Question 2

Engels

Answer 2

Family appears only after private property and need for inheritance.

Question 3

Criticisms of Engels

Answer 3

Gough: actually, monogamy exists in hunting societies

BUT, they do have bigger kinship networks which disappear as capitalism rises.

Question 4

List Marxists / Marxist-feminists (4)

Answer 4

Benston
Ansely
Freeley
Cooper

Question 5

Benston

Answer 5

Family:
+produces cheap labour
+maintains it at no cost via the housewife
+forces the man to work at cheap rates to provide for his family

Question 6

Fran Ansely

Answer 6

“stabilization of adult personalities” is for the benefit of capitalists, and done primarily by the wife by bearing male anger and ensure anger is not directed to the ruling class

Question 7

Freely and Cooper share what view?

Answer 7

Ideological conditioning.

“where children learn to submit to authoritarian rule”

Question 8

Delphy and Leonard (gist)

Answer 8

The family is an economic system designed to exploit women by men, wherein male “heads of the household”

Question 9

Delphy and Leonard, at least 4 major points

Answer 9

**DESPITE ALL THIS WOMEN GET LESS*

1. Head of House has monopoly over economic resources, and has several dependents who do unpaid work in exchange for goods or money
2. Even when employed, dependents are expected to do housework or use their own money to employ others
3. Instead of formal contracts, children/wives have to “informally bargain” and “keep husbands sweet” to get treated well
4. Inheritance is always related to position and gender than work done.
5. The type & amount of work required to be done depends only on age and sex

Question 10

What’s wrong with Delphy & Leonard?

Answer 10

They used dated records of manual working class families only.

The French farming study is specifically used to get biased data

Relies on an assumption that families DO have heads and the heads are men.

Question 11

Interactionists and Families, list sociologists and basic concept

Answer 11

TECHNICALLY these are individual-centered psychological theories, but “interactionist” can be used.

Leach (vs. Fletcher), Laing, Adorno/Cooper, Marcuse,

Concept (s): people hate families, families cause concflict within self and against society, they suffocate and lead to madness, it’s a tool of capitalism even at an individual level.

Question 12

Leach Vs. Fletcher

Answer 12

Leach- families are too-tightl knit and inward looking units that rile up an exclusionary, prejudiced ideology in its members and work against larger society. “family is the source of all out discontents”

Fletcher - “but family is still there, so it’s good! people want to be in families, especially women!”

Leach- “you’re underestimating the degree of ideological control that family as a social institution has. try kibbutz or communism”

Fletcher- “literally every commune ever has failed. also you, laing, everyone else only study messed up families???”

Question 13

Marcuse && Adorno && Cooper

Answer 13

Marcuse - family exists to make the perfect worker and dull consumer. ppl are forced into families after alienation at work. as class consciousness has increased, so has familial breakdown.

Adorno - family teaches that authoritarianism is good and makes everyone passive.

Cooper (whatever adorno says, except Marxist)

Question 14

Laing

Answer 14

family makes people schizophrenic.

people must murder their true selves and act in ways that are appropriated by “guilt and fear networks” sanctioned by their parents.