State policy and the family

This sociologists stree the role that families play in maintaining social order

• Neo-marxism

• Functionalism

• Feminism

• Marxism

This sociologist argues for a supportive state model where political institutions act to support families in performing their caretaking and human development functions.

• Neale

• Parsons

• Eichner

• Murdoch

Who says that government policies should be directed at supportingtraditional family relationships

• Zaretsky

• Rapoports

• Liberal feminists

• Neale

This perspective focuses relating what the family does such as socialisation.to how it benefits powerful groups eg how the ruling class benefits from free family services.

• Postmodernism

• Social democratic

• Marxism

• Traditional functionalism

He argues that families are an ideological state apparatus learning values that blend them to the capitalist society.

These sociologists have looked to the state and legal agencies as a way of redressing gender imbalances in family life through social policies that will break down barriers to female emancipation such as pay and political representation.

This sociologist outline the problem with managerial states as governments always in danger of presuming a standard model of family life for which they can legislate.

• Finch

• Parsons

• Eichner