Component 1 Section B (Families and households): Marxist perspectives on the family (Engels, ideological functions, the unit of consumption) and feminist perspectives (liberal, Marxist, radical and difference feminism), as conflict critiques of the family.

What this dot point is asking

This statement covers the conflict perspectives on the family: Marxism and feminism. Where functionalists see the family meeting society's needs, conflict theorists ask whose interests it really serves. You need the Marxist view (Engels on private property, the family as a unit of consumption, its ideological functions) and the four strands of feminism (liberal, Marxist, radical and difference). It is the direct critique of the functionalist consensus and a rich source of evaluation in every family essay.

The answer

The Marxist view

The Marxist account has several strands:

• Engels argued the monogamous nuclear family developed alongside private property: as wealth accumulated, men needed to ensure their property passed to their legitimate heirs, so women's sexuality and reproduction were controlled. The family thus arose to serve inheritance.
• The modern family reproduces labour power: it raises the next generation of workers and maintains current workers (physically and emotionally) at no cost to employers.
• The family is a unit of consumption: it buys the goods capitalism produces (cars, gadgets, "must-have" children's products), generating profit and being targeted by advertising.
• The family transmits ideology: children learn to accept hierarchy, authority and inequality as natural, preparing them to accept their place under capitalism. Zaretsky added that the family offers an illusory "haven" from alienating work, absorbing discontent that might otherwise threaten capitalism.

The feminist view: four strands

Feminists agree the family is a site of inequality, but argue it serves men and reproduces patriarchy. They divide into four positions:

• Liberal feminists see gradual progress towards equality, driven by changing attitudes, law (equal pay, divorce reform) and the march of progress. They are the most optimistic.
• Marxist feminists argue women's unpaid domestic labour benefits capitalism: women reproduce and service the workforce for free (Benston), and absorb the frustrations of male workers, what Ansley memorably called the "takers of shit". Women's oppression is tied to class exploitation.
• Radical feminists see the family as the key site of patriarchal oppression. The domestic division of labour and domestic violence show male power; Delphy and Leonard argue the family is an economic system in which men exploit women's labour. Some radical feminists advocate separatism (Greer's idea of the matrifocal household).
• Difference feminists argue there is no single female experience: class and ethnicity mean some women face very different family lives, so the family cannot be analysed as if all women were the same.

Evaluating the conflict perspectives

Both perspectives are powerful but criticised. Marxism is accused of economic reductionism (explaining everything by capitalism) and of ignoring real family diversity and the satisfaction people find in family life. Feminism, especially the radical version, is criticised for understating the progress women have made, the agency women exercise, and the warmth many experience in families. Difference feminism itself is a useful corrective, reminding us that family experience varies by class and ethnicity.

Examples in context

A strong answer keeps the four feminist strands distinct, attributes Marxist claims to the right thinkers (Engels, Zaretsky, Benston), and uses the strands to evaluate one another rather than treating "feminism" as one block.

Try this

Q1. Explain what Marxists mean by the family as a 'unit of consumption'. [6 marks]

• What the marker wants. A definition (AO1): the family buys the goods capitalism produces (consumer products, children's "must-haves"), generating profit and being targeted by advertising, with the point that this benefits the ruling class.

Q2. Analyse two differences between Marxist feminist and radical feminist views of the family. [12 marks]

• Cue. Two developed points: Marxist feminists tie women's oppression to capitalism (unpaid domestic labour serving capital), while radical feminists tie it to patriarchy and male power (domestic violence, exploitation by men), each explained and linked to the different cause each strand identifies.