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On which level is Death of a Salesman most effective--as a depiction of family conflicts or as a social commentary? 

Death of a Salesman is more effective as a drama in its depiction of the internal dynamics of the Loman family. Miller's social commentary is something we approach intellectually; however, his exploration of this family and their troubled, sometimes tragic, relationships evokes deep emotion. It is the play's power to evoke emotion in the audience (both sympathy and empathy) that makes it great. We can understand intellectually that competition in the business world creates stress and that those in business must stay abreast of changing times; understanding Willy's desperation and sympathizing or empathizing with his fear, loss, anger, and pain is a matter of the heart. Watching his life disintegrate as Linda tries valiantly to save him is in itself painful to even watch. Miller presents many truths in the play; those that relate to the misery within the Loman family are the most personal and powerful and make the play memorable.

Inaggy,

Arthur Miller's engaging and timeless class "Death of a Salesman" is most effective as a social commentary in its depiction of the quest for the American Dream, depicting a slice of 1950s Americana, and its gripping account of life's failngs in not measuring up to social expectations.

The play reveals anyone can achieve the American Dream. While everyone around the Loman family lived in an apartment, the Lomans owned a home, though they were paying a mortgage, owned an automobile, still with future payments on the loan, and at one point Willy was in his own eyes nevertheless successful at his job in his earlier days. The family's hopes of owning their own business, a common measure of the American dream is dashed at the end, but is suspenseful in its own right.

The society in which the play is depicted reveals exactly what life was like in the 1950s. Willy's job as a traveling salesman was a common job without any pejorative associations. People also lived on a revolving payment system. The play depicts the commonality of making payments once a month either on the old revolving payment schedule or a regular monthly payment plan. With contemporary refinancing, people don't always consider the full impacts of payments. Throughout the play, references to how much principal and interest was left on the home, the car, the refrigerator, etc., brought American lifestyles and values to a world-wide audience.

Biff, unable to capitalize on a suspected sports future, disappointed his father.  A common supposed future that most fathers have for their sons, or daughters nowadays, reveals life's failings for many people's dreams, but that does not mean that people could still not be happy.

Only in the end, Willy held him himself to a standard that he could not obtain. The play reveals this in its dark and brooding conclusion. 

I think Miller's brilliance is that he is equally adept to writing in both lights of social commentary as well as emotional distance.  In writing the play and studying the characters, we see that Willy is trapped and pinned by the weight of his dreams, fostered by economic success and the elusive social standard of "success."  At the same time, we can see his emotional distance from being there for his family.  It is in Miller's astute and trained eye that we can see there is a shortcoming present in both realms and that emotional detachment is in part the reason for failure in both.