Theory and Methods- Functionalists (structural theory/consensus theory)

Talcott parsons

-examined why we have social order in society. Like Durkheim he argues that social order is maintained by a moral commitment to social rules which is gained through socialisation and social control (reward and punishment) - social change is gradual evolutionary process. we have slowly moved from a traditional society to a more modern one - states that every society has 4 needs (functional prerequisites) that require solving for social order to be maintained

new right support traditional family values such as

-two parent heterosexual couples are the natural or ideal way to raise children -traditional patterns of power and division of labour within the family are best for family members and society. the man should be in charge, and be the bread winner whereas the woman should be the child rearer and home maker -families should not be reliant on the government for welfare; they should look after their own - a commitment to traditional, often religious morality, especially in matters of sexuality

parsons functional prerequisites

1. Goal attainment- society needs to set goals and allocate resources 2. Adaption- people's basic need for food, shelter etc 3.Integration- the need to maintain structure within the social system and to deal effectively with deviance. The legal system and religion cope with this problem as well as other subsystems 4. Latency- the need to socialise members of society in order to continue his/her membership of society and not drop out. The family, education and the employment sector cope with this problem GAIL

new right ideas on education are similar to those of functionalists

1. they believe that some people are naturally more talented than others 2. they agree with functionalists that education should be run on meritocratic principles of open competition 3. they believe that education should socialise students into shared values and provide a sense of national identity

Anomie

A LACK OF MORAL REGULATION. increases as society becomes more complex and people see themselves more as individuals rather than members of society.

parsons theory-Social evolution

A perfect equilibrium is never achieved but that society exists in a state of "moving equilibrium". He also states that social institutions have moved from being simple to more complex. In a more complex society social systems have specialised roles, for example the family used to provide food (home grown), education, religion and discipline. Now the family's specialised role is socialisation (norms and values). Parsons termed this .....

Evaluation Durkheim conflict theories institutions Parsons

Agrees with Durkheim and believes social order exists due to institutions working together.

Evaluation Durkheim conflict theories institutions Marxism

Argue that institutions work together as part of a superstructure, but only do so to maintain capitalism not consensus. Highlighted in BOWLES AND GINTIS'S CORRESPONDENCE PRINCIPAL.

Durkheim division of labour ORGANIC SOLIDARITY

Based on large division of labour (everyone has very different jobs). specialist occupational roles have developed which weakens social solidarity as it brings greater freedom for the individual. Durkheim believes this must be regulated to prevent extreme self-centredness and lack of consideration for each other. CAUSING A STATE OF ANOMIE CAUSED BY SOCIAL CHANGE.

Functionalist Durkheim 1895

Believed that society was like a living organism (organism analogy). It is made up of different parts that work together to maintain the function of society.

Durkheim anomie

Beloved that anomie could be overcome by the development of a strong occupational association that would regulate employment conditions (salaries, bonuses, conditions of employment). In turn individuals would become reintegrated into society and social order would be re-established.

Durkheim Suicide study 1897

Best known example of social fact study.

merton (an internal evaluation of functionalism)

Criticises parsons. Unlike parsons and durkheim he believes that a social institution can have a negative or non-existent function e.g. religion can promote disharmony not just a positive one

Evaluation Durkheim social change

Doesn't explain this issue very effectively as value consensus should limit social change. functionalists can't explain periods of very rapid social change.

Social facts

Durkheim argued that society is made up of this (things that are external to the individual but affect their behaviour). Durkheim believed that this could be scientifically observed and measured in order to understand their function.

Suicide study findings

Durkheim found that suicide rates can be individual by the fact it varies between different groups and patterns can be seen. SUICIDE RATES WERE HIGHER IN PROTESTANT COUNTRIES COMPARED TO CATHOLIC COUNTRIES AND THE DIFFERENCE REMAINED CONSTANT OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. Therefore suicide rates are seen as a product of society, rather than the individual.

Value consensus

Durkheim stated that society was based on this (agreement on how to behave) where a strong collective conscience bound people together.

Evaluation Durkheim conservative

Durkheim tends to be very conservative, supporting the way society is presently organised. However, is this a legitimate criticism? for example, radical feminists provide us with an extreme view that doesn't support the status quo but it doesn't make the theory more valid

Parsons theory

Emphasises social stability but unlike Durkheim he doesn't ignore change. Parson's believes that society can change because if there is a change in one social system this can have an effect on another

Evaluation Durkheim institutions

Explains how institutions work together e.g. education and family and how they play a part in maintaining the wider system.

Evaluation Durkheim harmony

Functionalism criticised for focusing on this too much along with consensus and cooperation. It fails to take into account the differences and conflicts between groups in society.

Evaluation Durkheim inequality

Functionalists believe that society is already fair and that people succeed or fail on their own merits. This approach doesn't tackle inequality as they believe that it is inevitable

Evaluation Durkheim explanation

Gives a clear explanation of the relationship of the individual to society. The individual is linked to society via norma and values. Society is an external constraint.

Evaluation Durkheim sense

Has face value, makes sense

Evaluation Durkheim deterministic

Human action is seen as determined by external forces. However individuals have freedom of choice and can always resist the influences of social forces if they choose.

merton evaluation of functionalism- institutions

Institutions exists to perform a function, this does not mean that there is no other way (or even a better one) of performing that function. for example the education system could replace family. Parsons on the other hand, assumes that the institution that exists is, by its very existence, the best possible solution.

Evaluation Durkheim evolution

It explains the functions of institutions and how they evolved.

Evaluation Durkheim norms and values

It ignores how ...... and ...... may be used to benefit other groups such as the ruling class who pass down capitalist ideology to the masses through the education system, media, religion etc. functionalists fail to consider some groups in society act in their own particular interests and dominate others e.g. THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL OF THOUGH believe that the media has replaced religion as the opium of people

Evaluation Durkheim Macro approach

It was the first real theory to explain the operation of the whole of society.

parsons theory- however

Overall he argues that society will return to a state of equilibrium. If social change occurs then it is seen as necessary and usually in response to disturbances in society

Durkheim division of labour SIMPLE SOCIETY

Society has moved from a simple, small scale structure to a large complex system. in simple society social order was achieved by "MECHANICAL SOLIDARITY" everyone shared norms and values because there was no "division of labour" (all had similar jobs) sharing the same values and views was enough to keep society in order COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE). THE FOUNDATION OF THE MORAL RULES WAS RELIGION.

new right (developed from functionalism)

The new right are conservative thinkers whose ideas have developed broadly from consensus views such as durkheim's. Though the differ on some issues, they agree that the laws in society benefit the majority. they accept capitalism as desirable and the criminal justice system as fair. the new right support strong law and order policy and research by right realist criminologists such as wilson's broken windows thesis was influential in the introduction of zero tolerance policies.

Evaluation Durkheim order and agreement

The stress on order and agreement is seen by some as being conservative. What about diversity and choice created in post modern society?

Evaluation Durkheim social institutions

There is little evidence that humans have created social institutions such as the family, religion, education etc in order to maintain consensus in society and respond to social needs. Family might maintain norms and values but the reason why it was created may have been completely different.

Evaluation Durkheim Empirical evidence from Davis and Moore

This study illustrates how inequality is necessary for society to function properly.

Evaluation Durkheim grand theory/meta narrative

Tries to explain everything from a single perspective. Post modernists emphasise that such meta narratives can no longer explain contemporary societies, where social life is chaotic, values diverse and social structures are fragmented. the functionalist meta narrative has no more validity in explaining society than any other HOWEVER IT IS WRONG TO PUT ALL THEORIES ON THE SAME LEVEL

new right theorists

are therefore keen on government policies that strengthen self reliance for the traditional two parent family

new right murray

argues that the uk is developing an underclass which is associated with crime, unemployment and education failure. this is because of the generosity of the welfare state which provides handouts in the form of benefits and housing to those to single parents

new right approach

argues that welfare provision should be reduced as support from the state discourages people from being responsible for themselves and their own family members. those who work resent paying taxes t support a welfare state and may be tempted to evade tax and then go down the slippery slope to commit other offences thus leaving society in chaos

new right evaluation negative- work

assumes people dont want to work

new right evaluation negative- blames the poor

blames the poor for their own poverty- but as frank field SD argues who would choose to be poor

new right evaluation positive- cheaper

cheaper for the government which means more money going into the economy. in theory it could trickle down to the poor

new right evaluation negative- trickle down theory

doesnt work as the owners and managers could keep the extra money for themselves

new right evaluation positive- values

encourages family values. however are these values outdated in a post modern world

Evaluation Durkheim positive on all aspects of society

even aspects that may appear harmful or negative. Durkheim claimed that if an institution didn't fulfil a function it would cease to exist. This may explain the recent decline in religion. HOWEVER FELLOW FUNCTIONALIST MERTON CRITICISES DURKHEIM FOR NOT ACKNOWLEDGING THAT INSTITUTIONS CAN PERFORM DYSFUNCTION AS WELL AS FUNCTIONS.

new right evaluation negative- means testing

have a stigma attached and people dont want to claim the benefits

new right is similar to functionalism

in that they both celebrate the positive side of family life. (both feminism and marxism stress the oppressive and exploitive nature of families) new right thinkers such as charles murray see the family as being under threat from government policies.

new right evaluation positive- better service

in theory it could lead to competition which in turn leads to a better service therefore peoples health and education could improve under this system

new right evaluation negative- zero tolerance

is aimed at punishing the individual rather than rehabilitating him/her. however it has brought the crime rates down in the past and therefore must have some positive impact

evaluation of merton negative

it is difficult to think of any institutions which have functional autonomy

new right evaluation negative- poverty traps

means testing leads to poverty traps

merton evaluation of functionalism- manifest and latent functions

merton was the first sociologist to recognise that institutions had manifest and latent functions. Manifest functions are the intended functions. latent functions are unintended functions. for example, schools are there to educate you (manifest function) but also a place to meet people (latent function)

evaluation of merton positive

merton's theory is more realistic compared to parsons and durkheim as it sees that some institutions can be dysfunctional

new right evaluation positive- encourages independence

people have to look after themselves rather than relying on the state. however in times of recession it might not be possible to be self reliant

new right evaluation negative- poverty

reducing benefits could encourage more poverty and crime

Evaluation Durkheim unusual behaviours

such as suicide. In this case Durkheim explains what seem to be an individual act is actually part of wider social picture.

merton evaluation of functionalism- functional autonomy

unlike parsons and durkheim, merton states that not all institutions are interconnected and that some parts operate as largely independent units

new right evaluation negative- critical

very critical of single parents, gay relationships and blended families- as they dont fit in with the traditional values of the new right

new right robert nozick

view income tax as theft by the state. it is wrong that those who give up leisure to work long hours should also have to give up their earnings in tax, while the unemployed gain both leisure and financial benefits. those who work hard or take risks for example by setting up businesses deserve to be more highly rewarded than others, and for the state to attempt to redistribute wealth is wrong. this theory strongly believes in a free market and that wealth will eventually trickle down to the poor

new right evaluation negative- privatisation

would just create more inequality. the poor still wouldn't be able to afford health or education