The Concept of the Social Dynamics - Essay Example

In an attempt to understand the dynamics between and within societies, Sociology was born. One of the important concepts on sociology that encompasses its meaning is sociological imagination. Sociologists develop a sociological imagination in order to “identify seemingly remote and impersonal social forces and connect them” to our own personal lives (author, p.4). Through this, theories are developed in order to better understand the social dynamics and social forces at play throughout our daily lives. Whether it is an event, such as Industrial Revolution, or a new release of iProduct, sociology looks at things through sociological imagination or sociological consciousness in an attempt to decode how these events or social forces influence the society. Berger offers sociological consciousness as one of the best descriptions of sociological imagination (author, p. 4). He explains that the sociological consciousness engages us in the meanings and patterns to make sense of what is really going on in our society. Sociology has three broad perspectives: functionalist, conflict and symbolic interaction. Each of these perspectives looks at different aspects when it comes to understanding the society. Each of them focuses on certain social dynamics. While the functionalist and conflict perspective view things in a broader angle, the symbolic interaction view things in a more intimate level. The functionalist perspective views society as a system of interrelated and interdependent parts (author, p.30). It likens the society to our body, wherein one part is interrelated and interdependent with another part. One part of the body cannot be separated from another, or else the entire body will cease functioning properly. The society is made of such that allow it to function properly. Examples of these are its members, the school, culture, the government, and other institutions. Although the conflict perspective does not reject the functionalist perspective that the society is a system of interrelated parts, it focuses more on the separation of these parts, or organizations that make up the society. The symbolic interaction perspective, on the other hand, aims to understand the interrelationships of these parts, and how each one is being interpreted differently by each system, or organization. With these focuses alone, we can see that the three perspectives are focused on the different aspects of the society, therefore interpreting each social issue or event in a unique ways. Based on how the three perspectives view the society, they have different focuses, where they look at distinct features of the society. The functionalist perspective focuses more on social order. Since the functionalist perspective view society as a system of interrelated parts, it also views order and stability as dependent upon the relationships of these parts. Taking out one would result in discord and tension within the society, and this will eventually result in its collapse. The conflict perspective, since it is more focused on the separation of the different interrelated parts of the system, focuses more on the conflict between them. Whereas functionalist see order and stability as the natural endpoint of a society, conflict perspective argue that the conflict is an inevitable fact of social life and one of the most important proponents of social change (author, p. 34). Conflict perspective is more interested in understanding the struggles between the parts of the system and how it influences the society, as a whole, rather than looking at how the society works toward social order and stability. It aims to understand the social tension and how it impacts the state of the society rather than look at how things become results or factors of social discord. The focus of symbolic interaction, on the other hand, is more on the social interactions and social concepts, such as an individual or group’s way of communicating and responding to other people (author, p. 36). It attempts to understand how each interpretation become shared meanings that becomes a system in itself, and works toward the proper functioning of the society. It explains also how these shared meanings become the anchor of a society’s functionality. These three perspectives have their own proponents. The classic theorist of functionalism is Emile Durkheim. One of his most popular works is Suicide. Karl Marx is the main promoter of the conflict theory. His Manifesto influenced a lot of groups working towards the equality of mankind. The symbolic interaction also has its own advocate, Max Weber. Most of his works are focused on the impact of events, though more on the Industrial Revolution, and how it influenced people’s behavior towards each other. The classic theorists attempt to understand the society they belong to. The events of their time have a great influence in their perspectives. The Industrial Revolution had a great impact on the society. And these three classical theorists, using their chosen perspectives, argue on how this great event influenced the society during their time. Their works, though, surpassed time since their ideas were also relevant in future studies, especially in the development of Sociology. These theorists have different major works that greatly affected the direction of future studies. The functionalist perspective sees everything as part of the ultimate order and stability of the society, even those that don’t have an obvious positive purpose, such as drug addiction, crime and poverty. Durkheim is one of the proponents of the functionalist perspective. His work shows that Durkheim focuses on understanding social ties, and its severity impacts not just the individuals involved but also mirrors what is happening in the society itself. One of his most popular works is Suicide. In this, he argued that studying suicide should not be about the immediate events that lead to suicide and also not about emotional quality. Durkheim then goes on to reason that the primary reason for suicide is the severance of social ties. The disconnection of the social ties that bind one social category from another result to anomie or disruption of the state of order and stability. When there is disorder or tension, then the society will breakdown unless other social influences and ties work towards moving back to an orderly fashion that the society is supposed to be. Karl Marx’s greatest work is The Communist Manifesto. His work focuses on how the economic system drove social change. He focuses on the system of production and this system of production influenced the rise of two distinct classes: the bourgeoisie, the owners of the production, and the proletariat, the laborers (author, p. 12). Because of the differences in interest between the classes, they move not in unison but in a constant struggle. The bourgeoisie pursues increase in profits while the proletariat pursues increase in wages. “To maximize profit, the bourgeoisie work to cut labor costs, investing in labor-saving technologies, employing the lowest-cost workers…” (author, p.12). This poses a problem for the laborers, as they are driven towards the edge of the economic system, as the owners bask in their success. His study on capitalism influenced a lot of groups today who aim for the equality, or at least a lessening gap between the owners and the laborers of production. Social actions, on the other hand, are the main focus of symbolic interaction. Max Weber analyzed how social actions become forces that “motivate people to act” (author, p. 16). He interpreted social actions in terms of its goals: traditional, where the goal is pursued because it has always been in the past, affectional, where the goal is pursued as an emotional response, value-rational, where a goal is pursued because of its symbolic significance, and instrumental-rational, where a goal is pursued through efficient means regardless of the appropriateness or consequences of the means (author, p. 16). Drug abuse has been one of the enduring issues in the society. The different sociological frameworks, functionalist, conflict and symbolic interactionist see drug abuse in different ways because of the different focus of the frameworks. Through a functionalist’s point of view, social issues are the results of the maladjustments of social units, much the same as how one’s body feels weak because of one dysfunctional part. Drug abuse is seen in almost the same manner. One uses drug because of its latent functions. Two of the reasons are relief of tension and to enhance social interaction. The problem starts with drug abuse, when the individual becomes dependent on the physical and psychological impacts of drugs. The correlation between drugs and poverty has been studied intensively. Through a functionalist’s eyes, drug abuse is apparent result of a dysfunction within the society, named as poverty. Because of the social rejection felt by the poor, they attempt to find a sense of belongingness and see drugs as an alternative for this. The drug use covers up their shattered lives and this provides them a sense of structure. It becomes a substitute to the comfort of the non-poor. On the other hand, the conflict perspective sees drug abuse as a source of oppression and domination. The different laws and ordinances passed against drug use has been the result of the conflict brought about by drug abuse. But more so, the conflict perspective sees drug abuse as a factor in increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Thus, being a source of oppression. When the rich people are caught abusing drugs, they are given a lighter sentence compared to that given for the poor. The conflict theory views drug abuse as an influential factor in the different tension and discord within the society, such as within the family. Drug abuse does not bring conflict between the individual and the people around him, it also impacts his relationship with the society. Symbolic interaction looks more at the subjective side of the problem. This theoretical framework is used to understand why some societies legalize and accept the use of some drugs and why some create laws against the same kind of drugs. The symbolic interaction theory looks at how the users perceive drugs. And this is used to understand the common characteristics of users who tend to use particular drugs. Read More