The New Right View of the Family

The new right perspective comes from a group of thinkers who mainly share the same values and ideas, from the conservative government. These thinkers believe that the nuclear family is the ideal family in society, and therefore is the bedrock of society. The views of the new right are in keeping with the functionalist views. The new right thinkers are opposed to many things in modern society, such as the decline of the nuclear family, and the rise in the numbers of couples that now cohabite and the number of marriages that now end in divorce. They believe many things are undermining the nuclear family.
There are four main features of new right, the emphasis on individual freedom and choice, reduced spending by the state, free markets which encourage competition and the importance of tradition values and institutions. The new right believe that the family promotes decency, manners, respect for property and the law. They also believe that the new social policies have begun to undermine the nuclear family, such as welfare benefits. They believe that the government is too easy and generous with their benefits, and that this had a profound effect on the family, leading to more divorces, more single parent families and declining morals of the family. New right thinkers claim that the welfare state is leading to a culture of dependency, where society will eventually rely solely on the state. They argue that the breakdown of morals and values in the family have led to crime within society. Conservative politician john redwood said that the natural state for a family should be a two child two parent family, and that two adults caring for their children should be the norm. New right thinkers have accused many people of exploiting the system of the welfare state by having more than two children, meaning they receive more benefits than they’re entitled to.
Charles Murray argues that the traditional nuclear family is under threat, and that the state is leading to a ‘culture