Marxists theory is a conflict theory; they believe that we live in a capitalist society and that the family is all about serving the interests of capitalism.
According to the Marxists, our society is largely influenced by wealth. They believe that big businesses help capitalists because majority of the money goes towards them. Also, when big business owners have children the business will pass down to them which means the rich will stay rich and the poor will stay poor as it is harder for them to get a good change. Middle and lower class people are taught in schools the rules and how to respect the higher class. This supports the Marxist theory as it shows how the family does help the interests of capitalism.
Also, Engels argued that the family developed so that males were sure to have paternity, we see this through how marriage allows control over a woman’s sexual role. Some functionalists would say that the family provides key functions for society but the Marxist might be ignoring the benefits of some of these functions.
Another function Is education. This supports the capitalists as more wealthy children will get better education and better recourses which helps them become more successful and have a better chance at succeeding with businesses etc. But lower class and middle class children only get standard education which puts them behind when trying to get a job. Also all the resource’s used in schools will be bought from shops which will also help the owner and help sustain the capitalist society.
The family is known for its large use of consumer goods. A sociologist called Zaretsky says that unpaid domestic work and the family is a large unit of consumption. For example, Families are targeted by the media when it comes to advertisements to buy products. The family also shows comfort to those who do