The Marxist Perspective on Families

Question 1

Marxists see all institutions in society as contributing to what?

Answer 1

Exploitation

Question 2

Family seen as an oppressive institution that aids what?

Answer 2

Capitalism

Question 3

Passing on wealth: Engels argues that family is a way of what?

Answer 3

Passing on private property, this led to women becoming the private properties of their husbands.

Question 4

Ideological functions: Zaretsky (1976) argues what?

Answer 4

That the family distracts attention from exploitation.

Question 5

Unit of consumption: What is this?

Answer 5

Capitalism needs consumers to buy it’s products. Family enables capitalists to make profits.

Question 6

Family promotes what?

Answer 6

Hierarchy

Question 7

Similar to Feminists agreed that family supports what?

Answer 7

Gender-role socialisation.

Question 8

Both functionalist and Marxist agree that what?

Answer 8

Family is an important institution of social control

Question 9

They see society divided into two, what are these?

Answer 9

1. The capitalist class (or bourgeoise) who own means of production.
2. The working class (proletariat) exploited by capitalists for there labour.