The New Right + Family Flashcards
Explain the views of supporters of the New Right
Supporters of the New Right have conservative views on economic and social issues. They believe in minimal government intervention and oppose social policies and welfare. New Right theorists also espouse traditional values and lifestyles. The New Right view on the family is based on a firm belief that the nuclear family is the ‘normal’ and ideal type of family.
According to the New Right, what does the ideal nuclear family consist of?
- A married mother and father couple
- A breadwinner father
- A stay-at-home mother
In what ways does the New Right view the traditional nuclear family as the ideal family type?
They view this type of family as the ‘bedrock’ of society as it is an independent unit that does not seek welfare from the government. It is self-reliant. In addition, the children are cared for by two parents with a clear division of roles in a stable household (instrumental and expressive). The New Right sees this family as ‘natural’ and based on biological differences between men and women. The family is the cornerstone of society; a place of contentment, refuge and harmony. To the New Right, the nuclear family is the best way to raise children.
Why can criticisms of the New Right be similar to criticisms of functionalism?
New Right and Functionalist thinkers both tend to ignore the way women suffer from the sexual division in the family.
What do the New Right believe to be the reason for the decline in the number of nuclear families in modern society?
Higher numbers of single-parent families, cohabiting families, and higher divorce rates
What problems do supporters of the New Right believe that the reduced significance of the nuclear family leads to in society?
- Crime
- Poverty
- Over-reliance on the welfare state
- A decline in morality
As a result of the problems the New Right believe are caused by the decline in nuclear families, what view points to their supporters take?
- Advocate a return to ‘traditional’ family values, inflicted by morality
- Oppose the rise of other family types and favour the conventional two-parent family structure
- Oppose social policies that support these other types of family values
What do some of the social policies opposed by the New Right involve?
- Policies that are generous with welfare benefits for single parents and unemployed individuals ‘handouts’
- Policies that make it easier to get a divorce and give rise to alternative family structures, such as the legalisation of same-sex marriage
What do New Right theorists believe about welfare benefits?
Generous welfare benefits are harmful because they create a ‘culture of dependency’ on the state. They believe if there are welfare incentives for single parents, this will encourage unplanned/teenage pregnancies; and that some people may even have multiple children on their own so that they can collect more welfare. Likewise, if there are welfare incentives for unemployed people, they will continue to reply on them instead of taking responsibility and finding employment. Eventually, society will come to reply on the state solely.
When did Charles Murray make his claims about the welfare state?
1943
What did Charles Murray feel the consequences of generous welfare benefits are?
- Increased state support for lone parent mothers, such as through financing and the provision of council housing for unmarried teenage mothers, led to young women having babies in order to gain money money front the welfare state, and therefore young men not having to take responsibility for fatherhood
- Claimed the children of single-parent families lacked a proper male role model and in turn grew up to be lazy, benefit dependent and criminal
- Felt daughters of lone-parent mothers often follow in their mother’s footsteps, having children outside of stable relationships at a young age and often relying on state benefits to support them, as this is the lifestyle they are used to
- Described the trend as lone-parent families becoming ‘married to the state’
What is a difference between the New Right and Functionalism?
Unlike Functionalists, the New Right do not believe that the family is a stable institution that performs universal functions for individuals and society as a whole. They instead view the family as increasingly unstable, arguing that the decline of the traditional family and the growth in family diversity are the cause of many social problems such as higher crime rates and declining moral standards generally.
What do New Right thinkers argue about the consequences of divorce?
If it becomes easier to get a divorce, more marriages will be easily abandoned, leading to higher levels of ‘other’ family types (such as single-parent and reconstituted families). This also has dire outcomes from the children of broken marriages, as they are more likely to experience poverty, skip school and commit crimes.
Which policies does the New Right believe the implementation of would make possible the reversal of the decrease in nuclear families, and why?
- Removing or cutting down on welfare benefits for single-parent families and unemployed people
- Making it difficult to obtain a divorce
This would force more people to seek employment and stop relying on the state. Teenage pregnancy and single-parent families would decrease due to the lack of incentives. Additionally, more couples are likely to stay together if divorce is difficult to obtain.
Who carried out research into families and children without father figures?
Norman Dennis and George Erdos (1992)
