The Family

Abstract

Although the family has its critics, its importance to society as the basic building block of social systems is a point of almost universal agreement between politicians, social scientists, moralists and the media. The 1997 Conservative Election Manifesto described the family as ‘the most important institution in our lives’ (Conservative Central Office, 1997, p. 15). The Labour Party was equally enthusiastic: ‘Families are the core of our society… The breakdown of family life damages the fabric of our society’ (Labour Party, 1997, p. 25). Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, recently wrote of the devaluing of the family as ‘the beginning of the end of a social system’ (The Times, 26 February 1997). Establishing the precise nature of its importance and separating the grain of truth from the chaff of rhetoric is not, however, easy, but some points can be sorted out.