A Functionalist View of Family in America

In the United States today it seems that there is a predominately functionalistic view of the family. These functionalistic views of the family are also seen as the root of many of societies' problems (i.e. crime rate, economy, education, etc.). It has been proposed, throughout politics and various other organizations, that a return to a more stable family structure is the solution to many of societies problems. I do not believe that this position is necessarily the correct one. This paper seeks to define the broad tapestry constituting "family" at this moment and how the diverse elements play out on society at large. It also illustrates the challenges being faced because of the changes in family structure. It focuses on the composition of the American family, the changing roles and responsibilities of parents and the impact of an evolving workplace on family life as seen through the functionalists perspective. Functionalists believe that the basis of an orderly society is the existence of a central value system that imposes common values on all its members. Therefore, when Functionalists look at the ways in which the various parts of families contribute to bringing about social order they are mainly concerned with the ways in which these parts help to perpetuate and maintain this common value system. "The importance of the family and its function for society constitutes the primary set of reasons why there is a social as distinguished from purely reproductive differentiation of sex roles." (Parsons, p.22)…