1
, Functionalism
Functionalism is a structuralist theory rooted in the work of
Durkheim, and later refined by Parsons among others.
EVALUATION: Social action theorists are critical of functionalism
and accuse it of ignoring free will and choice. Wrong (1961)
criticises functionalism for its deterministic view, and argues that
people are not passive products or puppets on the end of a piece
of string controlled by forces beyond their control, but individuals
who create society by their day to day living and interactions.
As well as being a structural theory, it is also a macro theory. It
was a very popular approach in the 1950s and 1960s, but is
now generally regarded as an old-fashioned view. Functionalists
regard society as a stable, harmonious system with social
order, which is maintained by value consensus. EVALUATION:
Conflict approaches argue that consensus does not exist, and
society is based upon conflict. Marxists argue that society is based
upon conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, whereas
feminists draw our attention the patriarchal nature of society and
the conflict between men and women.
In describing society, functionalists often use an organic
analogy. Parsons identifies three similarities between society
and a biological organism:
1. System – both are self-regulated systems of parts that
fit together in fixed ways.
2. System needs – both have needs such as organisms
need nutrition and society needs socialisation for them
to continue.
3. Functions – both have functions that contribute to the
overall running of the organism or society.
Functionalists argue that, just like the body, any society has
what Parsons (1951) calls ‘functional prerequisites’. This refers
to society’s basic needs or requirements which need to be met
if society is to survive, e.g. 2
,production of food and socialisation of the young. All social
phenomena within society are regarded by functionalists as
having some sort of function (job). For instance, pain in the
human body is never pleasant but serves the useful function of
alerting us that something is wrong. EVALUATION: Merton is
critical of this idea and says that Parsons neglects the idea that
things can be dysfunctional. For instance, he neglects the ‘dark
side’ of family life.
Durkheim suggested that people are basically selfish, and that
society would soon fall into chaos and disorder unless people
learned to share common values. He placed much importance
on society’s institutions such as the family and the education
system in socialising people into a value consensus or collective
conscience.
Parsons raises the important question of how social order is
maintained. He claims that it is through the existence of shared
culture, with a set of norms, values, beliefs and goals. Social
order is only possible if members of society agree on these,
which Parsons calls value consensus. This is the glue that binds
society together, which integrates individuals into the social
system. According to Parsons, the system has two mechanisms
for ensuring that people conform to the shared set of norms and
values:
1. Socialisation – teaching individuals what it requires
them to do. Different agencies such as the family and
the education system all contribute to this process.
2. Social control – positive sanctions reward conformity,
while negative ones punish deviance.
Parsons also examines the different parts of the social system,
which he sees as being inter-related. EVALUATION: Merton is
critical of this idea and argues that in complex modern societies,
some parts may only be distantly related to one another. It is hard
to see the connections between banking and football.
At the bottom of the social system, we have norms and values,
which are interpreted by individuals who have a status.
Everyone in society has a status,
3 e.g. mother, son, doctor,
teacher, etc. These norms govern how these people carry out
their roles. These status roles come in clusters, known as
,such as mother, father, daughter, etc. In turn, related
institutions are grouped together such as farms, factories,
shops, etc. who form part of the economic sub-system. Finally,
these indispensable sub-systems together make up the social
system as a whole. EVALUATION: Merton is critical of the idea
that everything is indispensable. He claims that this is just an
untested assumption and that there are alternatives. For instance,
Parsons claims that socialisation is best performed by the nuclear
family, but it may be that one-parent families or communes do it
just as well or better.
Types of society
Parsons identifies two types of society – traditional and modern.
Each has its own typical pattern of norms, of which Parsons
identifies five for each. Within each type, these norms fit
together
Traditional societies Modern societies
Status – ascribed and based Status – achieved and based
on on
fixed characteristics ability and effort
Relationships – broad with Relationships – narrow
a and
range of purposes related to specific purposes
Norms – particularistic Norms – universalistic
and and
emphasise treating emphasise everyone
people differently being treated the same
Gratification – immediate Gratification – deferred
4
,Orientation – collective and Orientation – pursuing one’s
puts own
the group’s interests’ first self interests
Social change
If there are two types of society, it raises the question of how
we changed from one to the other. For Parsons, change is
gradual. The organic analogy is relevant here. Organisms have
evolved from simple structures such as an amoeba, where a
single cell performs all of the functions, to highly complex
organisms like humans with many different cells and organs,
each performing its own socialised function. Similarly, societies
move from simple to complex structures. For instance, in
traditional society, a single institution – the kinship system –
performs many functions. However, as society develops, the
kinship system loses its functions – to factories, to political
parties, schools, churches and so on. Parsons calls this
structural differentiation – a gradual process in which separate,
functionally specialised institutions develop, each meeting a
different need. In addition to this, Parsons sees change
occurring through what he calls moving equilibrium. As a
change occurs in one part of the system, it produces changes
in the other parts. For instance, the rise of industry brought
about changes in the family from extended to nuclear.
EVALUATION: Postmodernists dismiss functionalism as being
another one of society’s meta-narratives, which cannot explain
contemporary society as it is so diverse.
Check your knowledge and understanding
1. What is meant by functionalism being a structural
theory?
2. Why are social action theorists critical of functionalism?
3. What is meant by functionalism being a macro theory?
4. Why are micro approaches critical of functionalism?
5. What is meant by functionalism being a consensus
theory?
6. Suggest two conflict approaches and outline why they
are critical of the functionalist approach?
7. What term is used to compare society to the human
body?
8. Suggest three ways that 5
society is similar to the human
body?
9. What are society's basic needs called?
, 13. Why is Merton critical of parts of society being inter-
related?
14. Why is Merton critical of ideas such as Murdock who
says that institutions such as the nuclear family are
indispensable?
15. Outline and explain four differences between traditional
society
and modern society
16. Explain what is meant by structural differentiation
17. Explain what is meant by moving equilibrium
Examination questions
Outline and explain two functionalist concepts (10 marks)
Item A
Functionalism is a consensus theory. It sees society as
based on a set of shared values and this value consensus is
the basis for social order. It is also a systems theory. It
emphasises the way the social system shapes social
institutions and the behaviour patterns of individuals.
Society is seen as a system with its own separate existence
and needs.
However, some critics claim that functionalism understates
the extent of conflict in society. Others argue that
functionalism is too deterministic, portraying individuals as
simply puppets of the social system.
Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate the claim
that functionalism understates both the extent of conflict in society and
the ability of social actors to create society through interaction (20
marks)
Marxism
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,Marxism is an idea based upon the perspective of Karl Marx.
Similar to functionalism and feminism, it is a structural and a
macro theory. It is also a conflict theory and sees the main
conflict in society as between the bourgeoisie and proletariat.
EVALUATION: Feminists would agree with Marxists that society is
characterised by conflict, but see the conflict as between men and
women, and emphasise the patriarchal nature of society.
Functionalists reject the conflict idea and see society as being
based upon consensus and harmony.
1. Exploitation – society is unequal. There are two classes
within society (bourgeoisie and proletariat). The
bourgeoisie own the means of production and the
proletariat work for them. This allows the proletariat to
be exploited as they do not receive a share of the
profits, they receive a wage
2. Capitalism – this refers to the unequal society outlined
above. The proletariat do not receive the value of the
goods their labour produces, but only a fraction. The
difference between the two is surplus value (the profit
the bourgeoisie make). EVALUATION: Marx’s two class
model is too simplistic. Critics argue that there are
important subdivisions within them
3. False class consciousness – Marx argues that the
proletariat are unaware of their exploitation, but
capitalism sows the seeds of its own destruction. This
is achieved by bringing the proletariat together in ever
larger numbers. Under these conditions, the
proletariat develop a consciousness of its own in
opposition to their exploiters. EVALUATION: However,
this has not occurred. Instead of the middle-class being
swallowed up, it has grown
4. Ideology – the class that owns the means of production
also owns and controls the means of mental
production – the production of ideas. The dominant
ideas within society are therefore the ideas if the
economically dominant class. The institutions that
produce and spread ideas, such as religion, education
and the media, all serve the dominant class by
producing ideologies – sets of ideas and beliefs that
justify the existing social order
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, 5. Alienation – this exists in all class societies, because the
owners control the population for their own needs.
However, under capitalism, alienation reaches its peak
as workers feel that they have no control, and are
reduced to mindlessly repeating a meaningless task.
EVALUATION: Social action theorists are critical of this
and argue that Marxism fails to recognise that people
have free will and can bring about change through their
own actions
6. Revolution – according to Marx, the proletariat will
become aware that they are being exploited and have
a revolution that overthrows capitalism. This would
then give way to a classless communist society.
EVALUATION: Marx’s predictions have not come true, and
there has been no revolution
The ‘Two’ Marxisms
Since the death of Marx, the absence of revolutions in the West
has led many Marxists to reject some of its ideas. Instead, neo-
Marxism has developed to try and explain how capitalism has
persisted and how it might be overthrown. There are two broad
approaches to these questions:
Humanistic Marxism
The most important example of this comes from Gramsci
(1971). He introduces the concept of hegemony, or ideological
and moral leadership, to explain how the ruling class maintains
its position. He argues that the proletariat must develop its own
‘counter hegemony’ to win the leadership of society from the
bourgeoisie. EVALUATION: A criticism of Gramsci’s work is that
he is accused of over- emphasising the role of ideas.
Gramsci was not convinced that revolution would come about.
He sees the ruling class maintaining its dominance over society
by coercion or consent. EVALUATION: However, workers may
tolerate capitalism because they fear state repression or
unemployment.
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,In capitalist societies, the ruling class rely heavily on consent to
maintain their rule. As long as the rest of society accepts
ruling-class hegemony, there will not be a revolution, even
when the economic conditions might seem favourable.
Therefore, there is always the possibility of ruling-class
hegemony being undermined, particularly at times of economic
crisis, when the worsening conditions of the proletariat cause
them to question things. However, this will only happen if the
proletariat are able to produce a counter-hegemonic idea,
where they are able to offer moral and ideological leadership to
society.
Structural Marxism
Althusser argues that if capitalism is to continue, future workers
must be socialised, workers who rebel must be punished, and
so on. In Althusser’s model, the state performs political and
ideological functions that ensure the reproduction of capitalism.
He divides the state into two sectors:
1. Repressive state apparatuses (RSAs) – these are
armed bodies of men such as the police and the army
that coerce the working-class into complying with the
will of the bourgeoisie. This is how Marxists have
traditionally seen the state.
2. Ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) – these include the
media, the education system, the family, and
ideologically manipulate the working-class into
accepting capitalism as legitimate.
This is similar to Gramsci’s distinction between coercion and
consent as different ways of securing the dominance of the
bourgeoisie.
Check your knowledge and understanding
3. What is meant by Marxism being a structural theory?
4. Why are social action theorists critical of Marxism?
5. What is meant by Marxism
9 being a macro theory?
6. Why are micro approaches critical of Marxism?
7. What is meant by Marxism being a conflict theory?
, 6. Suggest another conflict approach and why it differs to
Marxism
7. Why is functionalism critical of Marxism
8. Explain what is meant by capitalism
9. Explain what is meant by false class consciousness
10. Explain what is meant by ideology
11. Explain what is meant by alienation
12. What did Marx predict would happen?
13. Evaluate the idea of this taking place
14. Which concept does Gramsci's humanistic Marxism
focus on?
15. What does Gramsci argue the proletariat need to
develop?
16. What does this concept mean?
17. How does Gramsci see the bourgeoisie
maintaining its dominance?
18. Outline and explain the two sectors of society
according to Althusser
Examination questions
Outline and explain two criticisms of Marxist views of society (10 marks)
Item A
Marxists see society as based on conflict between social
classes. Those who own the means of production are able to
exploit those who do not and are also able to impose their
views on society.
However, different Marxists have different views about the
nature of capitalist society and about how social change
occurs.
Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate the
usefulness of Marxist approaches in understanding society (20 marks)
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