Own Sociological Theory - Essay Example

My own Sociological Theory Introduction Generally speaking, sociology is the study of society. It uses many methods, studies and analysis to develop knowledge about the human interactions in the society. It deals with the subjects related to the individuals (Micro level) to the subjects of the community or mass of people (Macro level). Man is accepted as a social animal. It is difficult for him to lead a successful life in this world without seeking any assistance from others. Same way it is difficult for him to lead an absolute free life in this world since his activities may affect others also. Every individual in the society is just like a link in a chain. Even a single weak link in a chain can destroy the total strength of a chain; same way even a single antisocial element in a society can weaken the cohesion or strength of a society. In other words, for the proper functioning of a society, all the individuals should be equally stronger. Sociologists work for achieving the above objective. In this paper, I briefly explain my own sociology theory. My own sociology theory: Intellectual influences My sociology theory has not developed over a night. So many factors such as intelligence, religious principles, teachings of prominent sociologists, my own experiences in the family and society etc influenced me a lot while developing my sociological perspectives. Out of the so many factors mentioned above, I think, ultimately my own intelligence and wisdom was the single most important factor which helped me to develop my own views about society and social interactions. During my childhood, I waited for the instructions from my parents to behave in a particular way. But when I grown up, intelligence started to control my activities. For example, during my childhood, I was a strong religious person. But as I grown up, I started to attract towards atheism. I was a great admirer of atheism for around 3 years. But I was not adamant in my views and was ready to make compromises. I became a believer again as my intelligence started to function properly. I have realized that in nature every activity is following a pattern and in the absence of a superpower or a controlling power, it is difficult for the nature to survive for such a longer period. I have realized that a fan will stop functioning whenever the power being switched off. In other words, I have realized that our nature or universe will become dull or inactive if no power or energy existed behind it. In short, intelligence started to control my thoughts when I grown up. I have started to analyze the prominent social science theories critically as a result of the intelligence development. Sociologist I dislike most Durkheim, Marx and Weber are generally accepted as the three principal architects of social science even though people like Herbert Spencer, William Graham Sumner, Lester F. Ward, Vilfredo Pareto, etc also contributed heavily to the development of social science. Out of the three prominent sociologists mentioned above, I dislike the theory of Marx most. Even though in principle, Marx’s theory has got some positive elements, in practice it is difficult to achieve the major objectives of Marx’s theory. “Marx believed that he could study history and society scientifically and discern tendencies of history and the resulting outcome of social conflicts” (Karl Marx). Marx argued that class struggle was the only way to achieve socialism. But currently we know that in none of the communist countries, socialism has been achieved in its true sense or as Marx expected. Class, for Marx, is rooted in social relations of production, and cannot be referred in the first place to relations of distribution and consumption or their ideological reflections. In considering the class consciousness of the proletariat, Marxists are therefore not concerned with the ideas of individual workers about their position in society (Slaughter) The idea of development of the class instead of the individual is not acceptable to me. In my opinion, class should be developed through the development of the individual. It is difficult to believe that a healthy society or class may safeguard the interests of the individuals. For example, even in communist China, the number of corruption stories is increasing along with the increasing number of some of the richest people in the world. Minxin Pei, the director of China program has mentioned that “the direct costs of corruption in China are about 3 percents of annual GDP”. In his opinion, the absence of competitive political process and free press makes Chinese society more susceptible to fraud, theft, kickbacks, and bribery (Pei & Kauffman). It is difficult to accept that a worker in an automobile industry should work for the wellbeing of the workers or the class rather than earning something for his personal needs. In short, Marx’s class theory failed in practical terms even in communist China and hence my consciousness is not ready to swallow it as it is. Marx was a severe critic of religion. But we know that even after tremendous achievements in science and technology, we are still unable to unveil the mysteries surrounding life before birth and after death. Nobody knows what happening to our spirit after death. Under such circumstances, in my opinion, belief in God or religion is logical. Real world problems and my own sociological theory In my opinion, the sociological perspectives of a person should address the social issues both at macro and micro levels. Macro sociology is the study of social structure/institutions and human behavior in terms of status, roles, institutions etc whereas Micro sociology is the study of social interaction based on an individuals interpretation of a situation and the meaning he gives to it (Macro and Micro Sociology). According to Anderson (2000), macro sociology helps us to identify the social structure within the society as a whole whereas micro sociology is concerned with the interactions, exchanges and choices of people as affected by the social context in which it occurs’ (Anderson). The examples given in the following paragraphs will make my sociological perspectives clearer both at macro level and micro level. I do believe that man cannot be selfish always even though I disagree with the Marx’s social theories. A person has two types of needs in my opinion; individual needs and social needs. It is a fact that the individual needs always dominate the social needs. Social inequalities often create problems for the members of the society in different ways. It is quite possible that a male and female of a society who are different in their classes engage in marriage relationships unexpectedly or deliberately. These relationships of un-equals may often result in conflicts and failures. But deliberate attempts from both the parties can convert such relationships into successful ones. For example, it is better for a person to marry his lover even if the lover is from a different religion, community, culture or social background. The society or the religion may ask that person to marry from the same religion or community in order to avoid any possible conflicts in future. But in this situation, I strongly believe that the person should safeguard his interest in this case rather than the interest of the society. The New York Times, dated May 19, 2005, has published the story of a male and a female who lead a successful married life even though both of them belong to the extremely different classes of the society. Dan Croteau, a roman catholic, a widower and father of two daughters coming from a working class has married Cate Woolner, a Jew, a widow and mother of two sons coming from a rich aristocratic family and they succeeded in leading a successful married life (LEWIN) At the same time, consider a person who decides to marry a person from the same sex. I don’t think in this case the society may accept such a relationship. Biologically, traditionally or historically, sexual relationships are defined as a relationship between a male and female in order to sustain life on earth. If all the people in the world are going for same sex marriages, then human history in this world cannot be sustained. In short, such a relationship which may harm the sustainment of human history in this world is not acceptable to me. We know that some people engage in some kind of socially disapproved behaviours like prostitution, lesbianism, robbery, etc. Even though they engage in these activities to protect their interests, a healthy society cannot accept it. Lesbianism and prostitution are legally allowed in certain countries because of the wide popularity of such things among people. In other words, the social concepts about certain behaviours are different among different peoples, communities, cultures and countries. Each society should formulate principle and procedures for the healthy sustainment of human life. It is necessary for me to reveal my perspectives about religion in order to make my social theory clearer. In my opinion, religion is an important social institution which controls the much needed morality and ethical principles in our society. Morality and ethical principles are slowly diminishing from the contemporary world which is actually the major reasons for the severe problems in the world. The thirst for domination and fame forces the people to engage in all sorts of antisocial activities. Religion is the only entity in our society, which argues for morality and ethical principles. So in my opinion, religion has an important role to play both at macro and micro levels of sociology. It is a fact that the creator has not created any religions in the world, but he has given human kind the ability segregate between good and evil. This ability varies with individuals and hence they started to interpret things differently which resulted in the formation of different beliefs and finally different religions in the world. One of the common elements of all the religions is that all of them work for the conservation of good values or ethical principles. No religion, either believe or advocate immoral things. Thus, for sustaining good values in the society all religions play an important role. In short, the value of religion cannot be underestimated even though Marx ridiculed religion for the social problems. At the same time, the involvement of religion in politics cannot be justified according to my sociological perspectives. Religion and beliefs are meant for the spiritual development rather than for the political purposes. Fundamentalism in any form should be condemned and religious fundamentalism cannot be accepted under any circumstances. For example, terrorism is one of the major threats for global peace and social cohesion in the current century. Even though many reasons were cited for terrorism, it is an accepted fact that religious fundamentalism is the major culprit behind every terrorist activities all over the world. We can witness elements of religious fundamentalism in the recent 9/11 incident and Mumbai terrorist attacks. Moreover religious fundamentalism is the major cause of violence in the Middle East. Many people believe that Al Qaeda is fighting mainly against countries like America, Israel, and India because of religious fundamentalism. I do believe that religions should focus more on spiritual development and it should avoid its involvement in politics. Conclusions Sociology is a wide subject which needs to be studied on both at micro and macro levels in order to get correct understanding about the society. My sociological theory is formulated taking in to the account of good elements of both macro and micro level social theories. The interests of both the individual and the society are equally important for me. I don’t think that communism or the social theories of Marx can influence the people further because of its failures in Europe and other countries in the world. Religion has an important role in human life in sustaining morality in this world, but religion should stay away from politics in order to avoid conflicts. Works cited 1. Anderson, Richard H. 2000. “THEORY AND RESEARCH: Approaches in Sociology”. 12 October 2010. 2. “Karl Marx”. 2010. 12 October 2010. 3. LEWIN,TAMAR. “When Richer Weds Poorer, Money Isnt the Only Difference”. 12 October 2010. 4. “Macro- and Micro Sociology”. 12 October 2010. 5. Pei, Minxin and Kaufmann, Daniel. 2007. “Corruption in China: How Bad is It?”. 12 October 2010. 6. Slaughter, Cliff. 1975. “Marxism & the Class Struggle”. 12 October 2010. Read More