family group by their organic natures, that is, the relations of husband
and wife, parent and child, rest upon biological differences and
relations, so that one may say that the family is almost as much a
biological structure as it is a social structure. This is not, to any
extent, true of other institutions. Secondly, the family is not a
product, so far as we can see, of other forms of association, but rather
it itself produces these other forms of association. The family, in
other words, is not a result of social organization in general, but
seems rather to antedate both historically and logically the forms of
social life. It is not a product of society, but it itself produces
society.

THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE FAMILY is continuing the life of the
species; that is, the primary function of the family is reproduction in
the sense of the birth and rearing of children. While other functions of
the family have been delegated in a large measure to other social
institutions, it is manifest that this function cannot be so delegated.
At least we know of no human society in which the birth and rearing of
children has not been the essential function of the family. From a
sociological point of view the childless family is a failure. While the
childless family may be of social utility to the individuals that form
it, nevertheless from the point of view of society such a family has
failed to perform its most important function and must be considered,
therefore, socially a failure.

The Function of the Family in Conserving the Social Order.--The family
is still the chief institution in society for transmitting from one
generation to another social possessions of all sorts. Property in the
form of land or houses or personal property, society permits the family
to pass along from generation to generation. Thus, also, the material