Honestly, a lot of what kept a lot of extended families together in the past was economic necessity. People needed a group to depend on and the family unit was the initial group to do so. You’d forgive a lot of what your family members did as family cohesion was more economically important than morality.
Some people will say this is only a product of capitalism, but this is also a communist issue as well. If the economy can provide for everyone, then the economic need for the family is removed. In contrast, familial ties in capitalist structures are usually when everyone is very poor and no one has the means to sever familial ties.
ratboy