Family and State Policies

Family policy

• Below, the knowledge is structured in the form of a 20-mark essay Social policy can have a large impact on families and family diversity. Some sociologists view social policies as positive as they can help all families to perform their functions more effectively. However, other sociologists are critical of social policies, arguing that they do not benefit all members of society equally and can undermine traditional family structures

New Right and Family Policy:

Take a conflict view of family policies, arguing that state policies have created family diversity, ultimately threatening the traditional nuclear family.

For instance, the introduction of the 1969 Divorce Reform Act has led to an increase in the divorce rate, correspondingly causing family diversity to rise as there are now more lone-parent families.

Murray - The New Right are critical of this as they argue that it undermines the traditional nuclear family and creates a growing underclass of welfare-dependant lone-parent families, which can have negative effects on their children such as doing poorly in education and increasing crime rates among young males, due to them lacking a male role model, as lone-parent families are generally female-headed.

Thus, for the new right, any social policy that undermines the traditional nuclear family is negative as they argue the nuclear family is vital for social stability.

Evaluation:

Feminists – The New Right are attempting to justify the patriarchal oppression within the nuclear family which often confines women to a domestic role. Additionally, they suggest that mothers are unable to adequately socialise their children and that all, female-headed lone-parent families are welfare dependent, which is not the case as in society today, more women are in paid work.

Feminism (conflict) and family policy:

Many feminists take a conflict view of family policies

Radical feminists: Social policies help to maintain women's subordinate position and the unequal gender division of labour in the family.

For instance, although maternity leave policies benefit women, they also reinforce patriarchy within the family. This is because maternity leave policies are much more generous than paternity leave policies, reinforcing the assumption that childcare is the mother's responsibility.

Evaluation:

Liberal feminists (such as Oakley)– Some social policies have had benefits for women, thus there is a march of progress.

For instance, The Divorce Reform Act has helped to release women from patriarchal oppression and the Equal Pay Act has promoted equality in the workplace and was an important step towards women's independence from men, perhaps encouraging more women to go to work and reducing their oppression as they no longer feel confined to the private sphere and traditional gender roles.

Therefore, they argue that not all social policies are directed at maintaining patriarchy

Functionalism (consensus) and family policy:

Functionalists take a consensus view of family policies, arguing that they act in the interest of society as a whole by helping families perform their functions more effectively

For instance, the introduction of the NHS means that families today are better able to take care of each other when they are ill. Therefore, functionalists argue that family policy has a positive impact on the family

Evaluation:

Marxists: Introduction if NHS helping to ensure families are healthy benefits capitalism as it helps to increase the productivity of the workforce

• Marxists ignoring the impact on women
• Feminists ignoring the impact on the working class
• Functionalists are ignoring how policies benefit certain groups (men and the ruling class)