System of Emmanuel Todd

Systems of Categories Distinguishing Cultural Biases (Part #9)

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(La Troisième Planète: structures familiales et systèmes idéologiques. Paris, 1983)

Eight family types associated with different socio-political systems:

9.1 Exogamic communal family: Namely favouring the emergence of communist socio-political systems (e.g. Russia, certain Slavic countries, China, Viet Nam, Cuba, Northern India)

9.2 Exogamic authoritarian family: Namely favouring an asymmetric pluralism characteristic of socialist and socio-democratic forces (e.g. Germanic countries, Sweden, Norway, Gaelic countries, Northern Spain, Japan, Korea, Jews, Gypsies).

9.3 Exogamic nuclear family: Namely favouring the emergence of individualistic systems of one kind (e.g. Northern France, Northern Italy, Greece, Poland, Latin America, Ethiopia).

9.4 Exogamic absolute nuclear family: Namely favouring the emergence of a second kind of individualism.

9.5 Endogamic communal family: Namely characterized by frequent marriage between children of brothers (e.g. Arab countries, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and southern Soviet Republics).

9.6 Endogamic asymmetric communal family: Namely characterized by frequent marriage between children of brother and sister (e.g. Southern India) favouring the emergence of a caste system.

9.7 Anomic family: Namely characterized by flexible heritage and cohabitation arrangements with possible consanguineous marriage (e.g. South-East Asia and South American Indians) favouring political ambivalence and socio-political systems such as that based on Buddhism.

9.8 Dynamically unstable domestic family: Namely characterized by the dynamic instability of the domestic family group and polygyny, favouring the emergence of socio-political systems dependent on authoritarian forces in order maintain social stability (e.g. African family systems, from available information).