Various Institutions of Social Structure - Essay Example

Various Institutions of Social Structure 1a) Social Structure is the various institutions which form the society and the social interactions between these institutions. Each of the three paradigms has a different definition of the social structure. According to the Conflict Paradigm, “the social structure is objective, external to the individual, and coercive.” According to this paradigm, the various “roles, statuses, groups, and institutions exist for the protection and maintenance of the elite, and… there is only conflict over wealth, power and status. The social structure is also concrete and exploitive.” Before Katrina, about 90% of the population of New Orleans was African American, mostly poor, uneducated and living on Government aids. However, the economy of New Orleans focused on the 10% elite. The Conflict Paradigm applies in this scenario as the institutions in place in New Orleans were for the protection of the wealthy while the poor were exploited. After the hurricane had passed, the pictures coming out of the city showed the plight of poor, mostly African American, and this further strengthened the Conflict Paradigm. When FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) started giving out help, it required that aid recipients register online or through an 800 number. Once again the social structure favored those with an internet or phone connection and those really needing the aid had no way to ask for it. In the months following the Hurricane, as New Orleans was being resettled, the rich and the wealthy were the first to return while the poor are still struggling and living as refugees all over the country. This, once again, only reinforces the conflict paradigm. 1b) According to the Functionalist Paradigm the “member of the society see the social structure as legitimate and therefore strive to maintain that social structure.” The Functionalist Paradigm sees the social structure as being stable and in equilibrium and its members striving to maintain the status quo. Post-Katrina was a time of rapid change in New Orleans. The social structure quickly moved to a balanced stable society and the various social institutions chipped in to help rebuild the city. However, once a certain level of stability had been achieved, i.e. once a certain number of citizens had returned and resumed their normal life, the stabilization process slowed down. This resulted in a new equilibrium being set in the post-Katrina New Orleans. 1c) The Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm, the “social structure exists only in the minds of individuals and small groups and has no objective reality” According to this paradigm, the social structure is further reinforced through symbols and images. Immediately following the hurricane, the media images predominantly consisted of completely submerged city and people hanging on to the roofs of their houses. As the city started rebuilding itself, the rich and the White were the first to return, while the poor and the African Americans continue to live as refugees in various parts of the country. This further re-enforces the idea that the poor are unable to take care of themselves, even in the minds of the poor themselves, who then continue to live at the lowest rung of the social structure. 2a) According to the Strain Theory, there is a gap between the accepted social goals and the means available to individuals to achieve these goals. This gap leaves individuals “strained” and results in deviant behavior. Different people adapt to this strain in different ways. According to Merton, the various methods of adaptation are: “Conformity”, wherein individuals accept the goals and try to achieve them through the acceptable means; “Innovation”, wherein people accept the goals but resort to unacceptable means, like robbery etc., to attain these goals; “Ritualism”, wherein people abandon the goals, but live by the rules and play it safe; “Retreatism”, wherein people give up both the goals and the accepted path to achieve these goals and retreat to alcoholism, drug addiction etc.; and “Rebellion”, when both cultural goals and legitimate means are rejected and the individual seeks new goals and tries to achieve them through new means. During and after Hurricane Katrina, about 20,000 people took refuge in the Superdome. The building was ill-equipped to handle so many evacuees and the conditions inside the Superdome soon became intolerable. The refugees spent about a week under these conditions. At least one person committed suicide and there were reports of rape, vandalism, violent assault, drug abuse and gang activities inside the dome. The people indulging in these activities were adapting to the strained situation inside the dome in their own different ways. Some of the people were resorting to Innovation (vandalism, looting), others to Retreatism (drug abuse) and still others to Rebellion (gang activities, violent assault). These behaviors can be sociological described as deviant behavior under extreme circumstances. 2b) Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory states that deviant behavior is learnt through association. In the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, the individuals who were predisposed to deviant behavior started engaging in criminal activities like looting vandalism, etc. In the closed confines of the Superdome, many other saw benefits of these deviant behaviors and learning through differential association, a number of other individuals also resorted to criminal activities. 2c) The Control Theory on the other hand looks at why most people do not commit crimes. According to this theory, when good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished, people tend towards good behavior. Also, attachment encourages conformity. In the Superdome, despite inhuman conditions and a number of people engaging in antisocial activities, most people conformed to the social norms and spent the days in the hellish conditions peacefully. This can be explained by the Control theory. 3a) Bureaucracy is model designed to perform complex task efficiently. Bureaucracy is essentially Oligarchy or “rule for the many by the few”. According to Max Weber, “Bureaucracy and not economy is the primary driving mechanism behind all socio-structural changes. Bureaucracy determines, defines and drives the economy which in turn drives all social institutions.” According to him, the main characteristics of bureaucracy are division of labor, hierarchies, written rules and regulations and formal communications and impersonality. It tends to bind us in its “Iron Cage.” Since Bureaucracy lays great emphasis on standards and rules and regulation, it often leads to a homogenized society or what George Ritzer calls “The McDonaldization of Society”. McDonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society. McDonaldized bureaucracies rely on efficiency, predictability, quantifiability and control and add to the iron cage by dehumanizing us. Bureaucracy affects each and every aspect of society including education. As a student, bureaucracy both helps and hinders my performance at school. Having a set of rules and regulations makes sure that I get the kind of education I expect at school. Also, it makes sure that all the students get exactly the same opportunities as I do. Thus the homogenization of education actually makes it easy to conform the social structure. On the other hand, it also makes it difficult for me to think out of the box and come up with new ideas. Thus the bureaucracy hinders my development as an individual. 3b) Bureaucracy means I have to lead my student life bound by certain rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are often given in writing, in the form of a handbook, and all students are expected to live by this handbook. The rules formed by the schools management is enforced on the thousands of students who then function almost mechanically. Also, when the student-teacher ratio increases, teachers are unable to give quality attention to all the students and this brings impersonality within the class. The instructions are usually one-way, coming from the teachers to the students and while students are encouraged to ask questions, these questions remain within a narrow acceptable range. Thus bureaucracy affects student life by forcing students to conform to an acceptable range of rules and regulations. 4a) Religion is a system of beliefs which binds people together into a social group. It divides the world into sacred (supernatural) and profane (ordinary). Religion is a social institution which provides a system of morality and brings together “a community of like-minded and like-believing people.” According to the Conflict Paradigm, “religion acts as a drug, which keeps the proletariat from rising up against their oppressors”. It is a legitimate social structure which serves the needs of the elite. According to the Functionalist Paradigm Religion serves to legitimize the social structure and maintains the “stability and balance by binding people”. It provides a system of guidelines for the people. According to the Symbolic Interactionism, religion is a set of symbols which identifies its adherents. It helps provide meaning to the individuals. Since religion provides such a strong sense of belonging, when a group feels that the religion it belongs to is being targeted by other religions, it tends to get violent to protect what it considers its own. Any activity when performed as a group helps to bring people together and binds them. The same is true for group violence. When a group comes together, for any purpose, there is a sense of belonging. Religion gives its adherents a set of rules and regulations making it easy for them to conform to the social standards. Hence, religious violence, especially when done as a group helps people develop a feeling of belonging while conforming to the acceptable social norms. 4b) Fanatics fighting for their religion do so under the mistaken notion that they are promoting the cause of their religion. Unfortunately, they do not realize that their actions are only hurting their religion. Also religion is often misused by the ruling class for its own purpose. As the Conflict Paradigm states, religion serves the purpose of the ruling class and sometimes it serves the ruling class to have people fighting among themselves to distract them from the real issues. Hence the only purpose that religious violence serves is the interest of the ruling class who use this opportunity to assert an even stronger claim on their right to rule. Works Cited "Louisiana Superdome." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 18 Nov 2007, 06:35 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 4 Dec 2007 . The Times-Picayune. 27 Aug 2006, Nola.com. 4 Dec 2007. < http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/sports-25/1156658799265020.xml&coll=1>. Dunn, Prof. Ruth, Student Course Pack In PowerPoint. Macionis, John J., “Sociology,” Eleventh Edition, Copyright 2007, Published by Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Read More