Marxism & the family

“Families support capitalism by producing future workers to be

exploited.” Zaretsky 1976

What do Marxists believe?

• Marxists reject the view that society is based on a value consensus and operates for the benefit of all.

• Marxists believe in conflict and inequality due to the capitalist system.

• Marxism is a structural (macro) theory as it sees the individual as less important than the social structure of society.

What do Marxists believe?

• Marxists see all society’s institutions e.g. family, education, religion, media etc as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism

• Marxists believe in conflict between two classes: the capitalist or bourgeoisie class who own the means of production ( such as tools, machinery,labour, raw materials and the factories) and the working class or proletariart.

• “ So long as capitalism exists, it is impossible for either women or men to gain full dignity and humanity, other than by fighting oppression”….ed. L. Jenness 1972

• Marxists argue that only with the overthrow of capitalism and private ownership of the means of production will women achieve liberation from patriarchal control. A classless society will be established in which the means of production( factories, labour, raw materials etc) are owned collectively, not privately. There will no longer be the need for the patriarchal nuclear family, since there will be no need to have a means of transmitting private property down the generation.

• I.E. Revolution is needed to overthrow the capitalist system.

Where does the family fit in?

• Marx himself did not provide a developed theory about family relationships and gender inequalities at home. However, Marxist theorists such as Engels, and Eli Zaretsky, have taken some of his general ideas and applied them to the family.

• Marxists criticise the fact that all the functions of the family are performed purely for the benefits of the capitalist system.

What are these functions?1. Inheritance of property2. Ideological functions

(socialisation)3. A unit of consumption

Inheritance of property

• Based on ideas of Engels: he believed that before the advent of the nuclear family, society was promiscuous and that people lived communally.

• There was no private property and instead all members of society owned the means of production together. There were no restrictions on sexual relationship.

Need for property?

• As the forces of production developed, society’s wealth began to increase. Along with increased wealth came the development of private property, as a class of men emerged who were able to secure control of the means of production. This change eventually brought about the patriarchal monogamous nuclear family.

Inheritance of property

• In Engels view, monogamy became essential as once people owned property, and at the time it was usually men, they wanted to be sure that the children they passed their property onto when they died were definitely their own. With inheritance, there had to be restrictions on women’s freedom. A woman’s sexuality had to be controlled so that the male family lines continued.

Ideological functions

• For both Marx and Engels, the economy is the dominant feature of capitalist society. Therefore, the family must be closely connected to the needs of the economy. Some writers have called this ‘economic determinism’. First, the family provides the next generation of workers to enter production, so the family is a source of labour power. Second, through primary socialisation the family instils the capitalist ideology (set of beliefs and values) into the values and attitudes of its family.

Primary socialisation

• Marxists believe that the family socialise the children to accept the inequalities of capitalist society (it mimics the power relations found in the workplace) and teaches them that obedience to superiors and good manners for example are correct ways to behave. It encourages them not to challenge the status quo.

• Socialisation also encourages its members to see their failure as individuals rather than as a result of capitalism. Marxists call this False Consciousness.

Emotional support

• According to Zaretsky, writing in 1976, the exploitative nature of capitalism leads to people seeking refuge in the family. However, Zaretsky says the family cannot meet the high expectations placed upon it. In the 1970s, Zaretsky observed, how housewives kept capitalism going, performing free household tasks in the home and socialising a future generation of workers (the children) into a way of thinking that suited capitalist requirements.

Unit of consumption

• Families buy consumer goods that need to be purchased for capitalism to survive and for the profits gained by the capitalists to be maintained.

• The family’s part in consumption is an expanding one. Family leisure time is often spent on trips out to shopping centres where many buy things on credit, building up increasing debts.

Activities

• 1. Complete the activity on page 42 of your textbook

• 2. According to Marxists, how does the family perform an ideological function? (4 marks)

• 3. Suggest three ways in which, according to Marxists, the traditional family perpetuates capitalism (6 marks) (Make sure you choose three completely different and distinct points)