Analysis of Structural Functionalism - Essay Example

29 May Theories: Part I Structural functionalism views the society as a whole institution. This institution is further divided into units or parts which are interrelated. Sociologists identifying with this perspective believe that shared values form the bedrock of any society and if even one of these values begins to disintegrate, the stability of entire societal structure is put at stake. Some of the most renowned structural functionalists are August Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim. They contributed by claiming that values serve as social glue which hold all units of society together. Durkheim was particularly interested in how societies survive over time (Cragun and Cragun 28). As societies grow in size and scale, they become increasingly complex and competition for survival gets tougher. This leads to the result that only the best or the fittest groups find it easier to survive and maintain a good life standard. Functionalism is a macro-level theory and focuses on big structures or institutions. It attaches most importance to bigger units of society, rather than focusing on individuals. Conflict is not considered important either, rather shared values are thought to form the bedrock of societal structure and hold all units together. The key difference between functionalism and conflict theory is that the former concentrates on the causes of a cohesive society, while the latter postulates that there is in fact no cohesive society because the social system benefits a chosen group. Both theories are based on this idea of survival for the fittest because of unequal distribution of wealth and power. However, this imbalance of resources is supported by conflict theory only and not by functionalism. Compared to structural functionalism which focuses on stability, conflict perspective focuses on conflict. Functionalists think that conflict is minimal, while conflict theorists believe conflict to be maximal. They elaborate on Marxian ideas and emphasize on the presence of conflict in society (Shepard 214). They believe that the aim of units or social groups is not to create order in society. Rather, their most basic aim is to compete among themselves to attain resources which are limited and valuable. Out of this competition two classes or social groups have been created, the capitalist class and the working class. The working class is most often manipulated by the capitalist class. This is because of unequal distribution of wealth. Due to the unequal distribution of resources, a rift is created between the two classes according to conflict theorists. Focus is shifted from quality and quantity because individuals with better connections are preferred over individuals with higher talent. Society is not cohesive for conflict theorists, rather it is seen as a collection of smaller units competing among themselves for limited resources as a way to survive. This theory is similar to structural functionalism in respect that it also promotes this idea of survival of the fittest who have the most resources. In contrast to functionalists, power relations form the main interest of conflict theorists. Karl Marx is the father of this perspective. Max Weber is also an important conflict theorist. Instead of asking questions like how is the power being used, who has the most resources, or how order can be created in society, symbolic interaction theorists are more interested in small groups and individuals in society. Charles Cooley and George Mead are important early theorists. Mead placed great stress on the role played by language in socialization (Swan 28). It is claimed that the idea of self is created by exchanging words for which social interaction is must. In contrast to structural functionalism which is a macro-level theory because it focuses on large groups, symbolic interaction is a micro-level theory because it focuses on small units which are individuals. In contrast to functionalism which believes shared values to form the basis of society and conflict perspective which considers conflict to form the basis of society, symbolic interaction perspective considers language to form the basis of society. While functionalism promotes the image of society as several interrelated units functioning for the benefit of the whole and conflict perspective which denies this idea of units functioning for the benefit of the whole, symbolic interactionism promotes the idea that society continuously undergoes change. Values are created by people by way of social interaction. If there is no social interaction, there are no values to hold a society together. So, here the focus is concentrated on social interaction. First, there is language which is most important. From language social interaction becomes possible and values are created. This means that values are not simply given to humans, rather they are created by humans. Part II High incidence of crime is a very big global issue. According to conflict sociologists, the manipulation of the poor people by the elite ruling class is to be blamed for this high incidence. There is not equal distribution of wealth or resources which seeds the element of resentment in the working class. These people then become social rebels to overthrow the capitalist class and take away the power enjoyed by it (Friedman). Conflict theorists will explore in context of crime that which social group has the most resources and how those resources are being used to decide if they are being used for manipulation purpose or not. There is more conflict over resources in industrialized or urban areas than in rural areas. This is why the incidence of more violent crimes like homicide is more common in urban areas as compared to rural areas where less violent crimes are more common. By using this sociological perspective, sociologists can find out why there is a higher incidence of crime in urban areas. Structural functionalists will dissect the phenomenon of crime from the perspective of values. They will try to figure out what values are shared by people engaging in crime and what values are forgotten by them. For example, mostly all criminals share a traumatized childhood. So, functionalists will scrutinize their past histories to assess which values were never introduced to them as a result of which they engage in crime as adults to mutilate the societal stability. They also believe that all units are interrelated. So, they will analyse how crime brings change that seeps throughout society (Bryant). Functionalists will claim that crime affects society on every single level distorting values and introducing new destructive changes. This is because all units are interrelated according to structural functionalists that change trickles throughout society when the incidence of crime rises. This is true given how the American societal structure has deteriorated over time and the concept of American Dream has also suffered with prevalence of crime. Functionalists can also propose that there is a worrisome crime rate in the US because of this idea of survival for the fittest which is based on reality. The less fit groups have to struggle more for survival which is why they often engage in crime to amass more power in less time. However, this does not mean that fitter groups are exempted from the possibility of engaging in crime. In fact, it is harder to catch the white-collar and corporate criminals than it is to catch small-time offenders. Symbolic interaction sociologists will analyse the issue of crime from the angle of symbolism. They will explore what the phenomenon of crime symbolizes. They will also ask the question of how labelling a person as criminal affects his/her social self or self-esteem. For example, they will try to explore how once if a person is convicted of crime on logical or illogical ground, he/she remains in control of the criminal justice system even after release. This has grave social repercussions. Many people are denied legal representation after being convicted. Their freedom is jeopardized. This lowers their self-esteem and their idea of social self is destroyed. Symbolic interaction is a very good perspective to analyse why rates of recidivism are so high. Recidivism is about criminals repeatedly committing offenses. For this purpose, symbolic interactionists will assess how criminals interpret symbols to create meaning. Deviance is interpreted by different people in different ways. Some of the factors which influence how people define deviance are related to cultural settings and style of upbringing. Interactionists will focus attention on factors like these to understand how deviance is perceived by different criminals to establish the incidence of crime. When studying deviance or crime from the symbolic interactionist perspective, it should be remembered that the tendency to engage in crime can be biological or it could be related to personality of a person. Concluding, the above discussion focused on three most important sociological perspectives namely structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. There are some similarities and many differences between these three perspectives which have been discussed above. They can be separately used to study any important social phenomenon like crime which is discussed in this essay. But, the conclusions drawn by each perspective should be summed up in the end to construct a most appropriate result. Not one perspective can be considered enough as each one of them has the potential to offer unique insights into any complex issue encountered by public. If used together to analyse any important issue or phenomenon, many important details can be uncovered on many levels which can help the policy makers to engineer most suitable policies. Works cited: Bryant, Lee. “Functionalism.” historylearningsite.co.uk, 2013. Web. 29 May. 2014. Cragun, Ryan, and Cragun, Deborah. Introduction to Sociology. Blacksleet River, 2008. Print. Friedman, Saul. “Consequences of Unequal Distribution of Wealth: The Rich Get Richer...” HUFF POST. huffingtonpost.com, 08 Aug. 2010. Web. 29 May. 2014. Shepard, Jon M. Cengage Advantage Books: Sociology. Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Swan, Alex L. Grounded-Encounter Therapy. Trafford Publishing, 2013. Print. Read More