New Right View

Question 1

New Right viewpoint:

Answer 1

• The New Right is a political (conservative) perspective.
• The New Right believe that the nuclear family is beneficial for social stability and should remain the dominant form of family.
• However, they believe social change has undermined the nuclear family e.g divorce rates, stepfamilies, lone parents, cohabitation, gay marriages and births outside of marriage.

Question 2

What are some social changes that the New Right believes have undermined the nuclear family?

Answer 2

Feminism – introduction of equal rights and opportunities have distracted women from their natural careers as mothers. This has led to gender confusion about family roles and resulted in a rise in divorce and number of single families.

Social policy – decriminalising homosexuality and abortion, contraceptive pill and making divorce easier through the Divorce Reform Act (1969) has resulted in a moral decay of society.

Question 3

Who is the main New Right sociologist to consider?

Answer 3

Charles Murray is the main New Right sociologist to consider!

With the nuclear family being under threat due to feminism, social changes and social policies, three outcomes have taken place: 1) Growing number of people who are welfare dependent 2) Growth in the underclass 3) Increasing number of children who are without male role models.

Question 4

What are some characteristics associated with the underclass according to Charles Murray?

Answer 4

Characteristics associated with being underclass include being inadequately socialized, unemployed, in poverty, committing crime, not valuing education, and typically living in inner-city areas/council estates.

Murray believes the family type responsible for increasing the growing number of people classified as underclass is the lone parent families and suggests social policies and changes need to discourage lone parent families.