Functionalism as a Grand Theory of Social Equilibrium - Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Functionalism is often referred to as a grand theory of social equilibrium that views status quo as underpinning the modern s and lays. emphasis on function, interdependence and evolutionary change. It is also referred to as a consensus theory because it doesn’t address the issue of conflict and change in the society and projects the relationship between the parts that build an orderly society as ideal. It represents a way of analysing the organization of social phenomena, however, discounting the significance of individuals and family since it is more concerned with the “macro” aspect of the society in which consequential interaction (and interdependence) between structures are important. It is this approach towards interpreting the society that it was criticized by Marxists and later on by Feminists to the extent that by the1970s, it became antique. This paper will describe Functionalism and offer a Feminist critique especially its approach towards the role of the family. An attempt will also be made to relate social work to functionalism. When Europe was going through a period of tumult in the nineteenth century basically in the event of the emerging industrial society which brought with it social issues like poverty, poor working conditions, high crime rate and most importantly heightened political awareness which posed a threat to the social fabric woven around essentially Christian moral values, there emerged a need to safeguard the society. But as argued by Davis (1959), “…historically, the rise of functionalism represented a revolt against reductionist theories, anti-theoretical empiricism and moralistic or ideological views under the name of sociology or social anthropology.” The French Revolution preceded by renaissance challenged the status quo of the erstwhile industrialised Europe thus questioning the role of the ruling classes. Radical ideas like equality, individual rights, free will and contentment stimulated the revolution which also changed the social consciousness. These conditions were naturally a matter of concern for the rulers and the conservative intelligentsia, and in order to counter the growing radicalism they came up with a new social paradigm based on the theory that every institution in the society had a function, that all social structures and processes strove to maintain a social order and had a tendency to integrate the society which was essentially to be studied as an integral whole. Proponents of Functionalism further propounded that all societies had functional needs which had to be met for the sake of the society to survive and these functional needs were met by the parts of the society or the social structures and processes. According to Parsons, "Functions are performed or functional requirements met by, a combination of structures and processes" (1970, p35); thus, structures (and processes) are causes and functions are their effects. Hence, functionalism is all about the basic needs of the individuals, a desire for status quo and stability in society. In the absence of empirical data, functionalists based their theory on an analogy between the human body and society and concluded that just like all organs of the human body must work properly in order for the body to function in a healthy manner, the various institutions in society should also work property, in coordination, to produce a healthy functioning society or to maintain what is know as “social order.” One of the main tenets of functionalism is the presumption that a healthy society is that which is based on a central value system which requires the individuals to adhere to a set of common values such as democracy, productivity, morality and so on. The more widespread and well-entrenched are the common values, the more likely it is that the society has achieved social cohesion. Functionalism has had varying connotations on continental Europe of 1930s. Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown, two main proponents defined functionalism, especially the concept of social order in two different ways. Whereas Radcliffe-Brown described the social order as being essentially normative, Malinowski summed it up as an amalgamation of individual’s basic needs. The functionalist inspiration traveled across the Atlantic when Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown were appointed to teach at the Chicago University. The American contribution led to the development of the functionalist concept of an ideal society representing the following points: (a) it is based on a system; (b) it is essentially harmonious and (c) conflicts ought to be treated as harmless phenomena that will lead towards a more satisfying social order. Functionalism received more attention when Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton illuminated its various aspects and offered their own meaning which is again different. Merton brought in the distinction between “manifest functions” and “latent functions” and is able to illuminate certain phenomena whose results, without conforming to the initial expectations of the actors, derive from their initiatives and intentions, or rather from the manner in which they combined among themselves and from the diverse constraints to which their action is subject. On the other hand, Parsons’ “structural functionalism” a term which he later on stopped using, introduced the notion of social norms or “a stable and consistent constraints” that controlled the action among individuals and among structures and provided a solution in that the sanctions could curb dissent. Thus the set of norms in the eyes of Parsons is a function. Functional relations refer to the individual interaction and inter-dependence that determine the roles as well as some social situations in which the individual becomes anonymous. According to Durkheim, some smaller social phenomena may continue to exist in a society if they supported another larger phenomenon by way of reciprocation. This support could be hierarchical (a smaller part of the society supporting the larger phenomenon guaranteeing reciprocation and a physical behaviour) or horizontal (two small phenomena supporting each other and gaining persistence in a reciprocal process effecting physical behaviour. “Functionalism is most commonly said to do two things: to relate the parts of society to the whole, and to relate one part to another" (Davis 1959, p758) Sociology literature refers to the notion of family as a basic unit of society thus Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State". There are some 22 different types of family and it would not be fair to suggest that family is only a group of people who are related to each other as a result of marriage or by blood. One of the types of family is nuclear family where a husband, wife and their real children live in a house. This is in contrast to the extended family or a joint family which included husband’s parental family as well. Functionalists like Parsons viewed family as an important institution which played an important role towards social stability. Thus: ”We therefore suggest that the basic and irreducible functions of the family are two: first the primary socialisation of children to that they can truly become members of the society into which they have been born; second, the stabilisation of the adult personalities of the society.” (Parsons, p 16) Family, according to functionalism, performs two main functions: it is an integrating mechanism in society and a unit of stability. According to Fletcher the main functions of the family are procreation and child rearing, regulation of sexual behaviour and provision of a home. According to Parsons, a modern family has two core functions: primary socialization of children and stabilization of adult personalities. Feminist critique According to Parsons, “the functions of the family in a highly differentiated society are not to be interpreted as functions directly on behalf of the society, but on behalf of personality... It is because the human personality is not ‘born’ but must be ‘made’ through the socialisation process that in the first instance families are necessary. They are factories which produce human personalities.” (Parsons, p 16) Although feminism offered a fair critique of functionalist view on family but unfortunately, it has failed to represent itself as a universal ideology. It has so many varieties such as Liberal Feminism, Marxist Feminism, Radical Feminism, Socialist Feminist, Black Feminism, Second generation Feminism and Third Generation. Yet, it is possible to pick up a common thread as paraphrased below: The general thrust of feminist critique is that structural functionalism justifies male privilege and ignores women’s contribution towards maintaining social order. Other areas in which Feminism is particularly critical of the family system is that it facilitates men to exploit and oppress women who play an equally important if not crucial role in maintaining the family unit yet they are not rewarded for their service, either monetarily whereas their needs are somewhat similar to men. In some cases, women may be involved in two jobs at the same time: as a paid worker and as an unpaid housewife. While functionalism says that the nuclear family is an important unit of a society and stability within the family is of paramount significance for a society to function properly, Feminism suggests that the nuclear family provides labour force to the capitalist system. This is achieved by (a) reproducing and rearing the future generation at little cost to the capitalist system and (b) maintaining the existing workforce’s physical, emotional and mental health and well being basically through the wife’s labour. However, Bentson argues that the capitalist system gets two workers namely husband and wife for the cost of one wage. The nuclear family places an effective check within capitalist exploitative system as male workers are reluctant to strike, protest and organize when they have families to protect. According to radical feminism which is based on the conception of patriarchy, family is an institution which gives birth to the idea of domination of women by male and legitimizes it through a value system which is supported by the state and other institutions such as the church: both men and women grow up into roles which perpetuate male power. The family is seen by Millett as an institution which perpetuates gender bias and in extreme cases legitimizes violence against women. Some feminists attack the notion that the relationship between husband and wife can be seen as that of equals whereas in a family environment the husband benefits more than the wife. Women are subjected to uniteresting and unchallenging work, little or no pay and a low status. They are required to fulfill the physical as well as emotional needs of the husband in a supporting role including sex, relaxation and support. According to the International Social Workers’ Association, the social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work. From a funactionalist standpoint, social work offers an important function in that it helps in building the capacity of the individuals, families, groups and communities so that they can fulfill the function they have to perform for the social order. More importantly, social work can play the role of a check or constraint to a deviant social behaviour or attitude thus miminising the scope of conflict leading to social change and maintaining the value base. Conclusion We began by placing functionalism in its historical perspective followed by an attempt to define some elements including the notion of family. To summarize, functionalism is all about understanding society in terms of the functions played by the institutions and structures. The institutions and structures, including family, reciprocate their functions in such a manner that it leads the society to evolve and grow. However, the emphasis is on evolution and mild reforms shunning the idea of any major change, dissent, deviance from the norms or conflict thus invoking comments from some that it is a conservative or reactionary theory. Attempt was also made in this paper to offer a feminist critique of functionalism and it is basically the elevated role of the male (at the cost of extending female a lower status) that is viewed by feminists as highly objectionable. Towards the end of the paper we defined social work and how it helped the social system in maintaining the status quo. WORKS CITED Davis. K., ‘The myth of functional analysis as a special method in sociology and anthropology’, American Sociological Review, 1959, XXIV, 757-772. Durkheim, E., Rules of Sociological Method New York, Free Press, Collier Macmillan, 1964; London, Macmillan, 1982. Malinowski, B., A scientific theory of culture and other essays, Chapel Hill, The Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1944. Merton, R.K., Social theory and social structure, Glencoe, The Free Press, 1949. Parsons, T., ‘The present position and prospects of systematic theory in sociology’, 1945, in Essays in sociological theory, New York, The Free Press, 1954; London Collier Macmillan, 1964. Parsons, T Family, socialisation and interaction process Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press. 1955 Radcliffe-Brown, A.R., Structure and function in primitive society, London Cohen & West, 1952. Merton, R. (1957) Manifest and Latent Functions, in his Social Theory and Social Structure, Glencoe, Free Press, 19-84. Kingsley Davis, The Myth of Functional Analysis as a Special Method in Sociology and Anthropology, American Sociological Review, Vol. 24, No. 6 (Dec., 1959) , pp. 757-772 Read More