What is the function of the family?

Judging from the development of human society, the two indispensable functions of the family are survival and reproduction.

Needless to say, the function of survival is the primary goal of the family. "Home is a harbor", we must first solve the problem of survival. Supporting the elderly, raising children and solving the family's food problem are the primary responsibilities of the family.

Reproduction is the foundation of human continuity. No matter how good the gene is, no matter how good the race is, there will be extinction without offspring. The phenomenon of low fertility rate in modern society has aroused people's vigilance.

If we do not reverse the phenomenon of low fertility and take corresponding necessary measures, some western developed countries may change their varieties, colors and souls (beliefs) after decades and hundreds of years.

The main functions of the two families, survival and reproduction, determine the division of labor and the way of cooperation of the families.

Early humans must first solve the problem of survival. For the sake of men's physical strength, men bear the responsibility of hunting, farming and even earning money to support their families, while women mainly take care of their families, reproduce and raise their children. As a result, a family pattern of "men plow and women weave" and "men dominate the outside and women dominate the inside" has been formed.

This gradually evolved into a patriarchal society, and the social status of women was relatively low. With the advent of the era of industrial economy and knowledge economy, women have gradually gone out of their homes and gained economic independence, and their family roles and division of labor have gradually changed.

At present, in western society, even in China, it is also common for men to take charge of the family and take care of their children. However, due to the influence of traditional prejudice, it is a great test for the parties, especially men, and this family structure is often unstable.

In any case, even though human society has gone through thousands of years and developed into an era of extremely rich material life and extremely guaranteed social welfare, survival and reproduction are still the main functions of families.

However, it is undeniable that due to the development of economy and society, the function of family survival and reproduction is facing a great test.

With the continuous development of social productive forces, the continuous enrichment of material life and the further improvement of social security, the basic problem of food and clothing faced by human society has gradually disappeared.

In addition, due to the development of biomedical technology and the change of social ethics, IVF and surrogacy are legal in some countries and then accepted by more people.

It is conceivable that with the further development of productive forces, the further improvement of social welfare guarantee, the development of biomedical science and technology, and the change of social ethics, survival and reproduction will probably no longer become the main function of the family, and the role and division of labor of the family will also undergo tremendous changes.