Todays study is Father Christmas

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Todays study is Father Christmas
Karl Marx 1818 - 1883
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Actually it is Marxism the family

• He didnt really believe in Father Christmas, he
  felt that religion was just another form of
  ideological control.
• Essentially try to think of brainwashing the
  imposition of ideas upon people in order to
  unconsciously manipulate them into believing that
  their position in society was the normal or
  natural order of things

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So Mr Marx and the Family

• To begin with any analysis of Marxism you have to
  understand his view on society. You have covered
  a little of this already. So the Christmas man
  begins with

The economic system
Our economic system is referred to as the
Capitalist economic system
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Capitalist society

• The bourgeoisie (the capitalists, or class that
  own control the means of economic production)
  In your Sociology in Focus this group is referred
  to as the Ruling Class

This group in modern societies are the private
owners of banks, factories basically your fat
cats of industry. The power (a central concept
in sociology) is held in the hands of a few.
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Mr Christmass words The ProletariatPlain
English the subject class- the workers

• The Ruling class exploit the subject class
• They work for the Ruling Class producing goods,
  and services and are paid a pittance. The rewards
  for all their hard labour are placed in the hands
  minority Ruling class!

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Conflict

• So Marx based his ideas on conflict between the
  ruling class and the subject class. The cause of
  the tension was economic inequality like
  functionalists he saw that social institutions in
  society helped maintain the status quo of
  society.

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Social Institution The Family

• The family works to maintain the existing
  relations within society.
• Outline in what ways you see the family
  maintaining the existing state of society.
• Think how Marx would think, examine the economic
  relations!

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End analysis
Scary red flying dragon!!!!!

• Capitalists use the family as a way of
  increasing their economic profits, and their
  oppression and control of the proletariat.

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Marxs friend of the feminist

• Friedrich Engels (1884)
• Examined the evolution of family over time from
  the promiscuous horde to the monogamous nuclear
  family.
• He felt that the nuclear family emerged to deal
  with the problems of male inheritance.
• Develop this idea forward yourself

The origin of the family, private property and
the State
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David Cooper (1972)

• Marxists have also pointed out how the family is
  an "ideological conditioning unit" (Cooper) which
  trains children to have attitudes which are
  acceptable to capitalism. The family also
  consumes goods which help the capitalist system
  increase profits. Even our ideas about sexual
  jealousy and the "double standard" of sexual
  morality can be traced by Marxists to the idea of
  private property men "own" women, and this was
  originally a device to make sure they passed
  their wealth to their sons.

MRS?
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Marxism Engels

• Patriarchy the rule of the father - men
  controlling women
• Monogamy providing the most effective way of
  enforcing this

Made from his rib Adams Eve was inferior to him
and likely to engage in sinful activities
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Marxist Feminist BenstonThe political economy
of womens liberation, 1972

• Argues, that the wife's housework is "unpaid
  labour" which otherwise the capitalist would have
  to pay for the male workers are "serviced" free
  of charge if they have wives. The worker is also
  less likely to go on strike or demand higher
  wages if he has a wife and children to support,
  and the housewife is part of a "reserve army of
  labour" the capitalists can call on when they are
  needed to work.

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Margaret Benston

• Socialisation within the family produces a
  situation whereby
• Women are less likely to asset their rights at
  work than men are (taught subservience)
• Male trade unions may not support them

That scary red dragon is still here!!!
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Marxists Feminists as well as Engels

• Would argue that the family serves to doubly
  oppress women.
• Explain want is meant by this statement

Eli Zaretsky (1976) Housewives reproduce workers
of the future thus supporting the future of
capitalism
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• He also adds that the family is an active unit of
  consumption (bling bling) so it too actively
  feeds into the Bourgeoisie money making machine!
• Moreover, the family in modern capitalist society
  create the illusion that it is separate from the
  economy
• Family is unable to provide psychological and
  personal needs itcannot meet the pressures of
  being the only refuge in a brutal society
  because it perpetuates the capitalist system

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Functionalism

• Beginning evaluation
• crucially important sociological skill
• How do Marxist ideas of the family contrast with
  functionalist ideas?
• In what way do they share a Marxists view?
• Look at the ideas of Parsons and Murdock
• How would a Marxist feminist criticise their view
  of families?