SHORT SUMMARY OF 👇
Marriage as a Social Institution by Stephen L.Nock
Here in this essay "Marriage is a Social Institution", the author examines the national marriage debate by reviewing the social and demographic trends that have changed the role of marriage and the family.
He says that marriage and parenthood are private matters, relevant only to the individuals directly involved.
First, the author defines marriage as something more than the sum of two spouses. It is a relationship defined by legal, moral and conventional assumptions. Then, he associates it with a social institution as it is culturally patterned and integrated with other social institutions like education, economy and politics. He further states that married spouses have something special that others Tack which help to manage and sustain their lives.
Emile Durkheim argues that marriage matters to men because it provides their way of life and settles their ambitions. She further states that one of the central problems in modern society is to establish valid limits on the unlimited desire for welfare, comfort, luxury and prestige.
The author also expresses the marriage trend ran down significantly in the United States. People prefer unmarried life more than a married life in a matter of tremendous freedom to arrange a relationship. This phenomenon as a sociological imagination shows that marriage and divorce now are not only concerned a private matter, it starts to translate into a public issue so this essay starts with how marriage concern a social problem. For instance, in case of vacations taken together or separately or depositing money in pooled or separate accounts.
A man may have restrictions over his wife and in the same way a wife may have as well regarding work, commitment, children, religious or cultural practices and so on. Some people may prefer unmarried life and live happily together. Such a relationship is not an institution
The author associates marriage with capital such as physical capital-embodied in skills and knowledge acquired by an individual and to social capital- consists of a large number of individuals connected by bonds of trustworthiness and trust. Such networks are sustained by social norms and social sanctions (honour, status etc) which facilitates certain actions and constrain others. To justify how marriage affects spouses, the author reemphasizes six dimensions that defines normative marriage in America: joined freely by mature, heterosexual individuals; husbands are the primary earners, partners are sexually faithful, and parents are involved. Marriage differs from other intimate relationships. It provides a force or special bond in a form of social control.
Here in this essay, Dr. Stephen L. Nock takes into account the structure of society and defines marriage and the important role families play in society and explains how it relates to birth control and the judicial response.