You're on to something very critical here. But Industrial Society as an imposition is affecting cultures with extended families as well. I suspect they'll make the transition more smoothly in general, however.Crayz9000 wrote:The concept of the nuclear family and the working parent family are mutually exclusive, leading to latchkey kids and the gang problem. The kids feel left out and ignored, so they turn to their peers and form gangs. (That is a gross oversimplification, but you get the idea.)
I don't know who thought up the nuclear family idea, but they should have been shot for it. If we stuck to the extended family concept, then kids would have a place to be after school--grandparents, uncles, etc could keep an eye on them. Not babysitters that don't give a shit unless they get paid.
But our definition of family could change very radically by the time Industrial Society has finished evolving as a concept.