The State
social scientists have increasingly recognized the importance of the state as an agent of socialization because of its the growing impact on the life course. Traditionally, family h he members have served as the primary caregivers in our job culture, but in the twentieth century the family's protective function has steadily been transferred to outside agencies such as hospitals, mental health clinics, and insurance companies(Ogburn and Tibbits 1934). The state runs many of these agencies or licenses and regulates them.
In the past, heads of households and local groups such as religious organizations influenced the life course most significantly. However, in the 1990s, national interests are increasingly influencing the individual as a citizen the and an economic actor. For example, labor unions and political parties serve as intermediaries between the individual and the state.
The state has had a noteworthy impact on the life course by reinstituting the rites of passage that had disappeared in agricultural societies and in periods of early industrialization. For example, government regulations stipulate the ages at which a person may drive a car, drink alcohol, vote in elections, marry without parental permission, work overtime, and retire. These regulations do not constitute strict rites of passage: most 18-year-olds choose not to vote, and most people choose their age of retirement with out reference to government dictates. Still, the state shapes the socialization process by regulating the life course to some degree and by influencing our views of appropriate behavior at particular ages(Mayer and Schoepflin 1989).
In the social policy section that follows, we will see that the state is under pressure to become a provider of child care, which would give it a new and direct role in the socialization of infants and young children.