The Role of Family Within Capitalist Social Organization Framework

This essay delves into the multifaceted role of the family within the capitalist social organization. It explores how families function as units of production, consumption, and accumulation, contributing to both social and economic empowerment. The essay examines the ideological functions of the fa...Read More

Running head: ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Introduction
The essay focuses on the role of family in the capitalist social organization. Capitalist
social organization now exists in all the nations around the globe. Under this organization, the
means for production and distribution of products that includes technology, land and transport
system etc are basically owned by less minority of individuals. The capitalist organization
describes the institution that is featured by the hierarchical dominance and bureaucartic
corporations (Genovese 2014). Family has huge significance in carrying out this essential
production, consumption and accumulation functions, which are associated with both the social
as well as economic empowerment of people. The main pathways to all these functions and to
social as well as economic empowerment mainly include family resilience and capital. The
family executes ideological functions in this capitalist social organization. The family mainly
acts as the consumption unit and teaches acceptance of hierarchy. It is basically the organization
through which wealthy people pass down their properties to their child and hence this leads to
class inequality. Industrial capitalist social organization has affected several family structures.
They play decisive role in legally transferring ownership rights in the capitalist social
organization. The social organization that integrates in the capitalist society treats by the similar
laws as that of the individuals (Glavin and Schieman 2012). This social organization can take the
legal action and can also purchase and sell the properties. The main motive of this capitalist
social organization is to attain higher profit and to provide freedom to the individuals. In this
type of organization, all the individuals in the family invests to build the relationship as well as
improve their skills of communication as they helps in believing that social capital has been the
vital factor for the success of the individuals.
Role of family in capitalist social organization
Social organizations are mainly the establishment that helps in functioning of a society. This
institution is basically considered as the societies backbone. It becomes difficult for the society
to achieve its fulfillment without this social organization. Even they help in organizing the
society as well as its people. The family has been considered as the significant group for the
society and the individuals. In addition, they plays a crucial role in forming the human society by

2ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
binding each of their members. The family is also defined as the transformation point of people’s
culture. The main characteristics of the family are given as under-
 Universality- the family has been considered as universal as social unit. The reason
behind this universality is that it helps in performing several functions that are
indispensable for society as well as the individuals.
 Emotional basis-Each members of the family has been emotionally attached with each
other. This means that each member in the family makes sacrifices for their welfare.
 Regulations in society- the family usually runs based on the social norms. Moreover, the
members of the family has been provided with training in order to follow customs as well
as social norms in the socialization procedure. Inter-relationship as well as interactions
between the members has been generally guided by legal as well as social regulations.
The family’s role is to fulfill the economic requirements all of their members to a particular
extent by giving them all the necessities that includes clothing, shelter etc. sometimes the
members work together in pursuing certain occupation, which in turn provides steady
employment and income to each member of a particular family. the role of family in the
capitalist social organization has changed over the years under the influence of the said factors
namely- Industrialization, modern education, urbanization, legislative measures etc. the family
size has been significantly decreased under urbanization as well as industrialization’s influence.
In addition, evolution of nuclear families has transformed the inter-relationship between their
members. There has been decline in functions that are performed by few families to the
substantial extent. However, many organizations were initiated in order to cater the requirements
of each members of family came up although their functions being particular and not being
holistic. In the primitive society and in settled districts, the family usually carries all the vital
industrial activities (Deephouse, D.L. and Jaskiewicz, 2013). In this organization, the family
produces various types of raw material, produces finished goods and even consumes the same.
However, the development of complex society leads to the huge industrial labor division. Hence,
the family has been delegated into industrial activities to this organization. According to the
World population action plan, the family has been defined as the central unit of the society and
hence must be confined by appropriate policy as well as legislation. It has been opined by (), that
the families play vital socio-economic as well as cultural functions in each country. Despite

3ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
several reforms that have revised their functions, the families continued to give financial as well
as emotional support that is vital to the development of the members. However, the family in
every form is basically the keystone of the global community. Being the key representative of
socialization, the families has also been considered as the crucial means of transmitting as well
as preserving the cultural values. In the broader sense, the families often aid in educating and
motivating their members and thereby act as the significant source of their future development.
The families also acts as the vital agents of the society’s development and hence their
contribution to such areas leads to decisive success. It has been argued by Gilpin, (2016), that the
family has been considered as one organization within the capitalist society that operates in
regulating the desire of members through proscription. Therefore, the capitalist social
organization facilitates in producing the oedipal framework of the capitalist society. The oedipal
structure in Freudian terms refers to the relationship between the children, mother reflecting the
desire object and father being the authority who intervenes between object and its desire. In
addition, the capitalist social organization highlights the oedipal framework that has been
modeled on families. The function of the families in this capitalist organization is to conduit
desire as well as to endorse the authority’s internalizationb (Hodson 2014). For example, the
framework of the capitalist social institute mimics the family with emphasizing on groups and
the individuals in authority. Ironically, the family has been prevalent in some structures of
organization that signifies unity, paternalism and harmony. The social organizations are not
mainly the functional arrangements for manufacture of products and services, but are the
mechanisms of self-creation and the crucial part of society oedipalization. Moreover, this social
organization helps in providing the products and services in response to the demand of the
customers. In other words, they exist in channeling the desire into manufacturing as well as
consumption of output of capitalism.
In such social organization environment, the members of the families contribute in several
processes for survival of household. In the capitalist period, the working class families in several
forms have been considered as the non-capitalist organization. Even the family working under
the capitalist social organization does not operate according to the principles of the capitalist that
includes quest of profit, family member’s treatment as products and the market valuation as
accounted by social worth (Lubinski, Fear and Pérez 2013). In addition, the families are
considered as the various types of social organizations from capitalist institute. On the contrary,

4ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
if the capitalist social organization mainly relies on the capitalist principles, it will sell their
services to the capitalist. The gendered labor division that characterizes the family was not
present at that time. Moreover, the recent study highlights that industrialization has changed the
roles of families in the capitalist social organization by translating it from production unit into
consumption unit. This change had occurred unevenly and this varied in terms of social class as
well as occupation. In addition, industrialization has disrupted the relationship among the
generations. The entrepreneurial families faced external realities for surviving financially.
The organization that functions on the basis of capitalism believes that the investors role in
the organization helps in creating business machine that in turn facilitates in gaining profit and is
then returned to investors or shareholders. Additionally, the capitalist social organization
believes that the companies leadership role in creating the culture considers all the multifaceted
constituencies that is also known as stakeholders. One of the vital changes in the family as the
institution has an significant effect in the society that basically comes as the result of
industrialization as well as capitalism (Hayek 2012). The perspective of Marxism about the
family’s role in capitalist social organization is that the society that is structured along the lines
of class with them generally works with the low elite class’s interest those who have huge
economic power (the Bourgeoisie) and that of the working class (the proletariat). The
Bourgeoisie attains their asset from exploitation of proletariat. As a result, there is huge
disagreement of interest between these two categories. However, this interest conflict boils over
to revolution as the institution that includes the family performs the vital function of control or
convincing the people and this reflects that the existing unequal system has been inevitable
(Rose-Ackerman 2013). Another aspect that the Marxists recommend about the families is that
they basically changes with the society and specifically the family emerges not due to the
requirement of industrialization but only due to the requirement of capitalist system. The
capitalist social institute under which individuals of the specific historical epoch as well as the
specific nation lives is actually determined by the production type; by the various development
stages of labor on one side and family on the other side (Lubinski, Fear and Pérez 2012). In
bourgeois epoch that has been contrasted with historical epoch, all the families became the main
region of personal life, the respite place from the productive life and from alienated labor, which
the laborers must face. The division between the personal and the productive relations as well as
between the families and work is exclusive to the capitalist social organization. Moreover, in

5ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
precapitalist social workers formation that has been operated within amalgamated life
circumstances while working or not working, under capitalist social organization the family has
one part of life at leisure and another part at work. It has been opined by (), the social worth and
intellect of identity cannot be achieved in the productive worker under this capitalist social
organization and hence the split of economic life from social illustrates that the interpersonal
relations and the family took on larger burden.
Marxists have critical view about the family and specifically about the nuclear family
because they consider that it underpins capitalist ideology (Genovese 2014). Moreover, it has
been argued by the Marxist that bourgeoisie (ruling class) have control over the society by
possessing the production means that includes infrastructure, tools etc and thereby controls the
proletariat (the working class).
Under contemporary Marxism, the family has been depicted as the ideological apparatus,
which means that it helps in socializing the individuals for thinking in the way that validates
inequality as well as encourages all the people in accepting unchangeable capitalist system
(Gilpin 2016). In this capitalist social organization, the owners of the business try to keep the
wages of the laborers down in order to maximize profit. But in order to take this action, they
must have the ability to sell the products of the workers or in other way create demand for the
manufactured goods. In this case, the family plays the significant role in building demand for the
products in several ways. This is explained below:
 Families tries to maintain with the material products and services that the neighbors as
well as peers acquire that includes family holidays etc. In addition, there are vital types of
advertising as well as TV programs that affect both the parents as well as children in this
manner.
 Both the media as well as the organization mainly targets the children of the families in
this advertising who then influence their parents with the help of pester power for
purchasing expensive goods( Bartels 2016). However, this is especially bad for some
countries where there are some restrictions on the advertisement that aim at children.
One of the vital changes to families as the institution that in turn had significant influences on
the women’s position in the capitalist society that comes because of industrialization and

6ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
origination of capitalism (Giddens, 2013). In this pre-industrial society, the families were not the
part of economic classes that were basically the economic centers of production (Berkman,
Kawachi and Glymour, 2014). The families in these capitalist social organizations organize the
resource flow from the generations to the sectors that promotes the skills acquisition and
society’s modernization. In this organization, the families facilitates in serving the economic
function that elicits savings as well as organizes investment in the individuals. Moreover, the
family in this capitalist organization has been important in managing the risk of the business. In
addition, the Marxist has different perspective about the family’s function in this capitalist social
institution. They provides the view that the main role of family is to generate huge labour power
that helps in maintaining the capitalist society (Hodson and Sullivan 2012). It has been stated by
Galaskiewicz, (2016), the family is the main control mechanism, which helps in exerting social
control on their families. As the families exist in the capitalist society, both the children and
parents faces huge competition in terms of advancement with the technology from their peers
and other parents respectively. This huge pressure to exists in this competing society, the
families adopts new competitive strategy (Firth 2016). However, this family has been considered
as the integral part of ‘commodity fetishism’ as it facilitates in fueling the initiation of false
requirements that in order to satisfy needs the individuals hard work.
The recent study reflects that the family has been seen playing the functions as ideological
equipment in socializing the ideology of the pro-capitalist and their own for maintaining the
family patterns during the period. The capitalist social organization motivated the workers in
earning money in order to become independent. In addition, this organization provided new
laborers who are socialized and disciplined. However, the family helps in making the laborers
more effectual by fulfilling their requirements for shelter, food, clothing etc. The families play
significant role in various social as well as economic settings (Alesina, A., Ardagna, S. and
Trebbi 2016). The society was polarized between hierarchical organization and interplay of the
decisions of the individual family members. Neither of the two by itself gives feasible way of
organizing both social as well as economic interaction. The family’s role in this organization is
to strengthen the individual members capacity in functioning and attaining their present and
future targets and objectives. They also provided typical role model, which facilitate in keeping
alive the insight that education has great value and steady employment being viable substitute to
welfare. The family as an institution has three vital functions that includes – to provide education

7ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
to their children, to spread cultures between two generations and supporting their members in all
types of work they do. Over the centuries, the family has been summarized as the work
movement from household to market. This resulted to liberation of the people from redundant
and shifting to main role of the families. The family was the main unit of both the political and
economic production in the social organization before capitalism. The economy that was
basically based on agriculture and on crafts, production in the economy was the main survival of
the families and executed with limited capital that the families possessed. With this limited
amount of physical capital, the labor intensive production methods were needed in agriculture
and this makes the families preferable.
Conclusion
The family functions in transmitting social possessions between two generations.
Properties in form of personal properties, land and hence the societies allows these families in
passing along the generations. In addition, the family transmits the material commodities
between the generations. As the family has been considered as the base of society , the
development as well as the progress of the capitalist society based on the development of sound
family. In other words, the families has been the primary unit of the capitalist social organization
in each societies (Apple, 2013). Since prehistoric period, the families have been serving as the
basic institution for providing the individuals with basic requirements and satisfying the
individuals requirement for support. Various types of families vary among various cultures and
in various nations. They performs necessary functions for both the individual members of family
and for whole society. The capitalist social organization refers to the institution where the family
plays the significant role in strengthening their members and encouraging them to attain future
objectives. In addition, they have also contributed to stability in society by holding their religious
values. In other words, the family cohesiveness as well as moral strength helps this social
organization in stabilizing the society both economically and socially. The effective role of the
families that they play in the capitalist social organization is nurturing as well as supporting their
individual members that includes promoting as well as safeguarding the children health,
instilling social values within their members and achieve the goal that ensures the future
generations being productive as well as socially responsible. They also plays the role in
safeguarding social alienation. The structure of the family and their composition has also been

8ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
influenced by both the political as well as socio-economic changes. Moreover, the family playing
the vital role in social organization adversely affects the capitalist society by making the
members overconfident in reaching their target level.
References
Alesina, A., Ardagna, S. and Trebbi, F., 2016. Who adjusts and when? On the political economy
of reforms (No. w12049). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Apple, M.W., 2013. Teachers and texts: A political economy of class and gender relations in
education. Routledge.
Bartels, L.M., 2016. Unequal democracy: The political economy of the new gilded age.
Princeton University Press.
Berkman, L.F., Kawachi, I. and Glymour, M.M. eds., 2014. Social epidemiology. Oxford
University Press.
Blaikie, P., 2016. The political economy of soil erosion in developing countries. Routledge.
Bott, E. and Spillius, E.B. eds., 2014. Family and social network: Roles, norms and external
relationships in ordinary urban families. Routledge.
Caletrío, J., 2012. Global elites, privilege and mobilities in post-organized capitalism. Theory,
Culture & Society, 29(2), pp.135-149.
Deephouse, D.L. and Jaskiewicz, P., 2013. Do family firms have better reputations than non‐
family firms? An integration of socioemotional wealth and social identity theories. Journal of
management Studies, 50(3), pp.337-360.
Esping-Andersen, G., 2013. The three worlds of welfare capitalism. John Wiley & Sons.
Firth, R., 2013. Elements of social organisation. Routledge.
Fraser, N., 2012. Feminism, capitalism, and the cunning of history.
Galaskiewicz, J., 2016. Social organization of an urban grants economy: A study of business
philanthropy and nonprofit organizations. Elsevier.

9ROLE OF FAMILY IN THE CAPITALIST SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
Genovese, E.D., 2014. The political economy of slavery: Studies in the economy and society of
the slave South. Wesleyan University Press.
George, J.M., 2014. Compassion and capitalism: Implications for organizational studies. Journal
of Management, 40(1), pp.5-15.
Giddens, A., 2013. The third way: The renewal of social democracy. John Wiley & Sons.
Gilpin, R., 2016. The political economy of international relations. Princeton University Press.
Glavin, P. and Schieman, S., 2012. Work–family role blurring and work–family conflict: The
moderating influence of job resources and job demands. Work and Occupations, 39(1), pp.71-98.
Hayek, F.A., 2012. Law, legislation and liberty: a new statement of the liberal principles of
justice and political economy. Routledge.
Hodson, R. and Sullivan, T.A., 2012. The social organization of work. Cengage Learning.
Lubinski, C., Fear, J. and Pérez, P.F. eds., 2013. Family multinationals: entrepreneurship,
governance, and pathways to internationalization (Vol. 23). Routledge.
Rose-Ackerman, S., 2013. Corruption: A study in political economy. Academic Press.
Sciascia, S., Mazzola, P., Astrachan, J.H. and Pieper, T.M., 2012. The role of family ownership
in international entrepreneurship: Exploring nonlinear effects. Small Business Economics, 38(1),
pp.15-31.