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Essay / Effects of Patriarchal Family Structure - 695
Mill is interested in the political repercussions of the unequal status of women within families. In a patriarchal family structure, wives remain ignorant of politics and issues that occur outside their home and do not directly involve their family. Mill laments that a woman "neither knows nor cares which is the right side in politics, but she knows what money or invitations there will be, which will give her husband a title, her son a place or his daughter a good marriage” (Mill 174). ). Even though their ignorance is not their fault, this narrow view leads women to focus only on themselves and those close to them, and to strive to protect or increase happiness only within the family unit. Their husbands and children will observe and internalize this self-centeredness, and when members of these families leave their homes to interact with the rest of society, no one will be as focused on the common good and become outright selfish. The patriarchal family structure also inhibits societal progress, a value Mill holds in high esteem; half the population would be unable to come up with ideas that would lead to improvements in politics, government and other areas. Mill, a proponent of utilitarianism, argued that greater equality for women would bring greater good to individuals and the population as a whole. the entire society. Political education of women would refocus attention on the common good of society and avoid the potential problems mentioned above. In the same way that family-centered views affect the functioning of society as a whole, Mill explains that family structure must change in some way in order to reflect the values that society should have, such as l equality and individuality. of paper...... true equality for women; within each class, women would be inferior to men, even though they would be superior to men in all classes below them. This reveals a difference between the ideas of Mill and Socrates; while Mill and Socrates consider equal education for women to be crucial, Socrates does not believe in greater equality with men and Mill does. Both Mill and Socrates believe that the emphasis on the family should be removed and that people should be more concerned about the well-being of society as a whole. However, Socrates' ideas are much more radical and extreme than Mill's; while Mill proposed changes to the family in order to improve society, Socrates believes that the best solution would be to abolish the family unit entirely with the lottery system; in this way the family would comprise the entire state and there would be a unified loyalty to all..