Sociological Theories in the Documentary Social Engineering in the 20th Century - Essay Example

Sociological theories in the documentary Social Engineering in the 20th Century Introduction Social imagination mainly refers to the ability to see the societal patterns that tend to influence individuals and group lives within a given society. In social imagination, an individual gets to imagine growing up under completely different circumstances that he is in currently. Mooney, Knox and Schacht (pg. 489) points out that the beginning of a sociological imagination can be as simple as the pleasures derived at watching people, giving one an opportunity to know how the society influences people’s lives. The idea of sociological imagination was first introduced by Wright Mills in 1959. His main behind the introduction of the concept was to help the society understand the relationship that exists between the individuals and the society in which they live. According to the sociological imagination by Mills, when trying to achieve a particular look, the look has likely been established by the social forces in the society that tells one to achieve a particular ideal. The ideals tend to be produced by certain societal industries that profit enormously from the products and services that the society buys. Conflict theory mainly emphasizes on the role of power and coercion in sustaining social order as advanced by Karl Marx. The theory was advanced amidst a society that was going through division of societies into groups that were competing against each other for both social and economic resources. According to the theory, social order is sustained by power and domination rather than consensus. This power lies in the hands of the individuals within the society with the greatest economic, social and political resources. Furthermore, the theory regards inequality within the society as unfair and only exists due to the fact that those possessing abnormally large shares of resources within the society tend to defend their advantages. Additionally, each group in the fragmented society always strives to gain more control of the limited societal resources in the course of advancing for their own needs and interests. As such, in this society, consensus only exists because people are bound together around certain common interests that are often antagonistic to other groups within the same society. Individuals and groups benefiting from a certain structure will join hands and strive to see the structure maintained to the latter. For instance, the wealthy within the society, may fight with a view to maintain their continued access to better resources even if it means opposing all the measures likely to broaden access of the same resources to the wider society. The theory has particular interest on race, class and gender within the society as these are regarded as the foundation for some of the most pertinent and enduring issues within the society. These factors influence nearly every aspect of social life. Proponents of conflict theory view families as symbols of power systems in the society (Mooney, Knox and Schacht pg. 11-14). This implies that gender roles among other issues are influenced power relationships between men and women, which commonly results men developing a tendency to have more power than women in a family unit. However, a shift in tis power is likely to arise with political and economic changes, with women also likely to become powerful when they gain some form of financial independence. On the contrary, most opponents of the conflict theory resent the theory for its inability to clearly address the issue of change within the society as much it explains the dynamics of change. These theories as employed in sociology are quite evident in the documentary Social Engineering in the 20th Century. On the other hand, some of the incidences depicting scientists controlling various animals and subjects under certain condition to achieve a particular objective can be viewed as an example of conflict theory where the powerful are constantly manipulating the weak to derive the best possible way of handling them. The powerful within the society regards other people as machines that can be designed to perform certain tasks at certain hours and be compelled to perform a particular function at the click of a button. The eugenics movement explained in the documentary also points towards the conflict theory that operates on the assumption conflicts tend to exist within any society. For instance, prior to the Watson experiment on infants, the world believed in eugenics where the a few whites were regarded as the elite within the society. They believed that one was born with ether good genes or bad genes that consequently determined that social class that one would fall in. As a matter of fact, the movement to alienate the so-called bad genes, was funded by the corporate elites who wanted to continue enjoying the existing privileges that would otherwise be limited if the “bad genes” allowed to propagate. Mainly based on the work of Emile Durkheim and Herbert Spencer, the structural functionalist theory regards the society as a system of interconnected parts that tend to work together in harmony in the quest to maintain a state of balance and social evenness within the society as a whole (Mooney, Knox and Schacht pg.13). This implies that each of the various social institutions within the society serves important functions for the whole society. Whereas education offers a means for transmitting social skills knowledge and culture to the youth, politics provides a channel for governing the society. Similarly another important social institution according to the Structural Functionalist Theory is economics, which provides a platform for the society to sustain productivity. Additionally, there is also religion that serves to provide moral guidance to the members of a particular society, as well as a means of worship. The main idea of the theory lies in its view of an interconnectedness of society with various functional parts of a society influencing each other. For instance, in the modern society, some of the changes that have taken place in technology have had major impacts in the colleges and universities as evident in the technical programs that the institutions currently offer. Moreover, adults have been required to return to school to adapt themselves with such new changes. Moreover, with the number of women increasing in the workforce, new policies have been formulate and subsequently applied aimed at protecting the interest of women against any form of harassment of discrimination. In describing some of the social elements existing within the society, the theory applies the term functional to describe elements that contribute to social stability, whereas those elements that only disrupt social stability are regarded as dysfunctional elements. A common dysfunctional element within modern societies is crime that may lead to either loss of property or life. Moreover, the theory also recognizes two main types of functions; latent and manifest. Manifest function is usually intended and has recognizable consequences. On the contrary, latent function is commonly unintended whose consequences are hidden from the wider society. In the documentary, the views of Moris Berman, the author of The Reenchantment of the world, are in support of the structural functionalist theory that works on the presumption of the existence of interactive forces within the society. He points out that in the face of the age enlightenment that came along with industrial and agrarian revolutions; people viewed the world as a giant web of influence where if one part is plucked the rest will collapse. Additionally, the move to division of labour during the 19th century and the efficiency that resulted with the move aided by mechanization is a manifestation of the structural functionalism. The inventor of the science of management Sir Adam smith saw the division as a means of improving efficiency at workplaces that increased production per unit time. Symbolic Interaction Theory is mainly applicable to sociologists focusing on the ways in which people relate to and are affected by social structures. The theory mainly serves to address the subjective meanings of human actions and the processes through which individuals develop and share certain subjective meanings. To achieve this objective, the theory lays emphasis on the psychological dynamics of individuals interacting within small groups. Symbolic definitions and meanings have an influence in social behaviour. Humans normally respond to their definition of a given satiation instead of an objective situation. This implies that the situations that one defines as real commonly tend to end up becoming real. The theory also suggests that an individual’s own identity or the sense of self is shaped by social interactions. This implies that one tend to develop a self-concept by observing other people’s interactions with him and subsequently label him. Through observation of how other people views an individual, that individual in question begins to see a reflection of himself. Similarly, symbolic interaction theory also analyses society by addressing the subjective meanings that people usually impose on objects, events and behaviours within the society. The theory has a great influence on the conduction on how scientists should conduct research. It proposes that in order to develop a comprehensive research practice, a researcher should always view the world from the eyes of the individual or grouped being studied in a research. This is deemed important as it allows the researcher to understand other’s views of reality and the subjective aspect of their experiences, including their symbols, values, attitudes, as well as beliefs. According to the theory, society is considered to be socially constructed through human interpretation. When people interpret other people’s behaviour, the interpretations tend to form social bonds. Moreover, the theory interprets social order as being constantly negotiated and created through the interpretations that people give to their behaviour. In the documentary Rebecca Lomov’s, the author of The World as a Laboratory, justification of the use of a rat in a maze for scientific studies, can be regarded as one of the examples of symbolic interaction. In her View, Lomov cites that rats are more preferred for use in the laboratory due to a number of human interpretations about the animal. She proposes that rats can be metaphorically regarded as animals that are fairly easy to trap. Moreover, she also points out that people do not hold any much ethical consideration about rats further justifying why rats can be used in any experiment. Her view and perception of the rat manifests symbolic interaction in action among human beings. Such are the perceptions that human have come to develop about rats as a result of the long-time interaction with rats. Subsequently, her view of the world as a maze can also be regarded as a consequence symbolic interaction where Lomov perceives the world and life as a maze, with the various challenges that people face in life being regarded as the various cells in a maze. Shift from inorganic to organic food News of modifying agronomic performance is constantly emerging posing a great concern about the impact of such foods to the ever-growing world population as well as to the environment. There is need for the society to embrace a new social change that regards organic foods rather than inorganic products. Organic foods are those produced by the use of organic fertilizers rather than artificial ones. The supporters of organic foods claim that foods produced in the organic way tend to be more nutritious, especially vitamins and other minerals, compared to conventional inorganic foods. This has mainly been associated to the fact that organic fertilizers used in organic food production are rich in these nutrients in comparison to inorganic fertilizer. Similarly, during processing, organic foods do not have hydrogenated fats whereas there inorganic counterparts have plenty of hydrogenated fats that is usually used as a preservative. Most cardiologists have often complained about the association of hydrogenated fat and heart diseases. Moreover, a change toward organic food products will also be deemed crucial due to their good taste, especially since growers of some organic products such as fruits and vegetables can grow the varieties that emphasize delicious flavour or tender texture over other futures such as perfect appearance as is usually the case with inorganic products. Such improved qualities, becomes a great motivation for people to consumer more fruits and vegetables thus encouraging the growth of a healthy nation contrary to inorganically produced products. Another advantage of organic foods over the inorganic arises from their low contamination. Quite often, consumers who pay more for organic foods can claim value for their money since these products are normally free from pesticide residues. Nearly more than three quarter of food produced the organic way are free from pesticides residues compared to a similar percentage of inorganic foods which tend to have significant quantity of pesticide residues. The small percentage of pesticide residues are due to contamination from during transportation or from drifts from nearly filed bearing in mind that conventional farming products such as pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, which tend to persist in soils from previous applications. Nevertheless, the Federal Standards regards those organic foods with small amounts of pesticide residue as safe since the human body is well equipped to handle tiny amounts of even the poisonous substances without any apparent harm. Another reason for shifting to organic foods pertains to their environmental safety. Farming the organic ways tend to promote environment safety because organic farming entails the use of techniques that are agriculturally sustainable. Instead, organic farming entails the use of traditional means such as crop rotation and the use of manure, which not only improves soli condition but also protects waterways and wildlife. Shift from internal fuel combustion engines to electric engines Amid the rise in greenhouse gases and other chemicals that have been associated to global warming, there is a need to make a social shift in the society from the use of gasoline powered engine vehicles to electric cars. Electric cars have been recommended by some environmentalist because they constitute a method of road transportation that can reduce the particulates associated with conventional car exhausts. The electric vehicles are also sometimes referred to as zero –emission vehicles (ZEVs) (Europa pg.72). Making a social shift to the SEVs can be deemed as advantageous in a number of ways. To begin with, the ZEVs normally require less maintenance compared to their petroleum counterpart internal combustion engines because of their fewer moving parts that more reliable. Additionally, unlike the engine combustion vehicles, the ZEVs can be quite important towards reducing noise pollution. This is attributed to the fact that their engines are quieter and consequently they emit very little or no sound at all. Furthermore, since most electricity used by the ZEVs is obtained through pollution of power stations, the use of electric vehicles may displace the air pollution that would otherwise be generated by car exhausts. This implies a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases and other compounds that tend to be harmful to human beings. The use of the ZEVs, therefore, has environment benefits, which however depends on whether the generation of electricity used to charge the vehicles is clean. Although many people may disregard the efficiency of electric cars, hybrid vehicles, which are electric cars combined with conventional ones, have been developed and are capable of achieving greater energy efficiency while conserving the environment. As such, it is due time for a social shift from the use of internal combustion engine vehicles if the increasing rate of depletion of the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect is to be averted. Shift to community policing Despite close scrutiny and critical review of community policing regarding the flaws in its doctrine and legitimacy tactics, even the police academicians have advocated for the practice. Reformers proposing the practice have often distinguished the philosophy underlying the practice and the various varied strategies and tactics that are often loosely associated with the philosophy. The idea of community policing is regarded as a radical departure from the traditional notions of policing. It may also be regarded as a paradigm shift that poses challenges on the long-standing conceptualizations of the police and some of the fundamental assumptions about doing police work. The practice has ethical, values and moral foundations that commonly aim at changing both the nature of the tasks of the police performance, as well as the number of people tasked with the responsibility of determining the desired means and ends associated with policing. Additionally such as shift is essential since the assumptions upon which community policing rests, represents a significant departure from the past, which threatens the values and beliefs embraced by the traditional institutional forms of policing (Palmiotto pg. 489). A shift to community policing will imply that political leaders and other community elites no longer monopolizes the police protection like before. Instead, community policing will play a critical in curbing the rising crimes and the instability of police-community relations. Unlike the current bureaucratic policing system that limits police interaction with other societal members, community policing takes an opposite stance. It encourages police officers to get to know the people of their jurisdictions so that they can solve problems of concern to the neighbourhood. By ending the alienation that has existed for decades between the police and the wider society, community policing can be key towards improving crime solving. This is because the society will be ready to provide more information regarding criminals among themselves. As a whole, the documentary outlines a range of views that conform to the sociological principles. Some of the principles outlines in the documentary are widely applicable in the current while some seem to have been surpassed by time Works Cited Europa. The environment encyclopedia and directory, 2001. London: Routledge, 2001. Mooney, L, D Knox and C Schacht. Understanding Social Problems. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2008. Palmiotto, Michael. Community Policing: A Policing Strategy for the 21st Century. Aspen Publishers Inc., 2000. Read More