Sociology as a Tool to Understand Society

Statistics released by the Official National Statistics show that in May 2013, lone person families became the second highest household in today's society, with 7.7million citizens living alone, linking to the rise in divorce and fall in married people. Furthermore, family diversity has become more acknowledged in contemporary society.
             There are many attributes which contribute to a growth in family diversity. For instance, the Divorce Reform Act (1969) gave couples living in unhappy marriages, such as empty-shell marriages easier access to a divorce, increasing family diversity by creating a rise in lone parent families. Furthermore, the introduction of the Civil Partnership Act (2001) strengthened the amount of homosexual cohabiting in society. Another aspect of family diversity stems from ethnicity. An example of this is shown through Asian families (seen in Fulcher and Scott's work) as they tend to take an extended form in households with patriarchal men leading the family. This links with Marx's theory of the 'chain of inheritance' within families, as kin passes down items such as properties and businesses, benefitting Capitalism and the ruling class, whilst oppressing the under class's chance of working a better job. On the other hand, Caribbean families tend to rely heavily on the dominance of the female, as the father figure is less cooperative in family ties. This leads to single parent families and a growth in divorce rates.
             When looking through the eyes of Murdock, it is easy to see the benefits of the family, although, his outdated views can be critiqued due to the lack of consideration to other aspects under the umbrella of 'family' such as homosexuality, domestic violence and poverty. Marxism however, took one of these aspects into consideration when analysing the unit.
             Marxism focuses on the financial aspect of society, believing the family unit has a sole purpose of creating the next generation of workers for free; to eventually participate in cheap labour, benefiting the Bourgeoisie in a Capitalist society.