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Assess the Contribution of Functionalists to Our Understanding of Families and Households

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Assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households. (29 marks)
Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus into which society socialises its members. This enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. However, other sociologists argue that contemporary society is not harmonious but is ridden with conflicts.
Functionalists regard society as a system made up of different sub-systems that depend on each other, such as the family, education, religion, law and the mass media. Family and other sub-systems are often compared to the human body where if one of the body parts doesn’t function properly the others won’t either. Social structures work for you and society as a whole so if one doesn’t work correctly society will break up. Functionalists are interested in the positive functions of the family and how it contributes to a healthy society. Conversely, functionalists don’t look at society negatively or the negative effects family could have on you or society as whole. Also, Marxists see societies institutions as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism therefore, the functions of the family are purely performed for the benefit of the capital system and do not help society function properly, they don’t work for you and society as a whole, they are only there for the bourgeoisie.
Murdock (1949) argued that all families fulfil four vital functions and without this society wouldn’t be able to function. One of these functions is stable satisfaction of the sex drive; having a healthy sex life with the same partner, preventing social disruption caused by a social free-for-all. Another function is reproduction of the next generation; without this society cannot continue. Economic support is another one of Murdock’s vital functions, this meets societies members

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