Answer to Question #155023 in Economics for Himanshi

Question

Explain the universality of nuclear family and the Marxist critique of the same

Answer 1

Nuclear family - a family consisting of parents (parent) and children, or only spouses, in this case, the relationship between spouses (representatives of the same generation) is distinguished, and not relations between representatives of different generations (parents and children). It is contrasted with the extended (or complex) patriarchal family of the traditional type, which includes several married couples or at least several generations of adults. The transition from a complex family to a nuclear one occurs during the transition from a traditional society to an industrial one.

Marxists argue that the nuclear family fulfills ideological functions for capitalism - the family acts as a unit of consumption and teaches a passive acceptance of hierarchy. It is also the institution through which the rich pass on their private property to their children, thereby reproducing class inequality.