But they do so by a vest system of laws to protect the population. Socialism political system of communal ownership: a political theory or system in which the means of production and distribution are controlled by the people and operated according to equity and fairness rather than market principles. Socialism is a more mixed economy where people are more equal and have workplace benefits. The Essentials of Sociology, socialism also has three essential components: 1. public ownership of the means of production: 2. central planning and 3. the distribution of goods without a profit motive. In socialism the government owns the resources.
Functionalists are consensus theorists. They think of education as a positive function for all individuals in society, which has a powerful influence over it. The aims of education in functionalism are to maintain social stability, keep society in consensus and resolve any conflict. Durkheim and Parsons saw education as an essential agency of socialisation whose function is to transmit common values to the next generation. Parsons argued that schools act as a bridge between the family and a wide society within the role of education being to promote universal values such as achievement, individuation, competition and equal opportunities.
Crime and deviance is defined by the ruling class to protect their own interests. Traditional marxists believe the reform act introduced throughout the 19th century worked in favour of the capitalists, laws were passed to strongly protect private land while very heavy penalties were imposed for minor theft, extreme poverty was not taken into account. They would also argue that the working class have unequal
Karl Marx believed that the means, relations, and mode of production all relate to the inequality in a capitalist society. What he is talking about when he says means of production in society are physical non-human inputs used to produce goods. A means of production could be a natural resource or it could also be technology. Whoever controls the means of production is going to have the most power. The capitalist owned the means of production in capitalism and therefore basically were able to control the economy.
On top of this, the child’s status within the family is ascribed because it’s what they’re born in to. However, in society there are universalistic standards which mean the child is judged against standards which apply to all of society. These are essentially the laws of the country. Furthermore, the child’s status in wider society is achieved through merit. Parsons argues therefore that the role of education eases the transition between the family and wider society.
These combine to form the infrastructure and the superstructure i.e. education, politics, norms and values all support the dominant system determined by economic factors” Haralambos, M & Holborn, M (2000) Marxism believed that there was class conflict between the bourgeoisies (upper class/owners of land, factories etc) and the Proletariat (the working class/middle class). The Marxism theory was also a macro sociological theory as it views society in the ‘bigger picture’. The functionalist theory is different in the way that it is a consensus theory; this means that everything in society functions as individual parts that as a whole create society. Functionalists look at society like the human body; both human parts and parts of society have certain needs that need to be met if they are to survive.
He looked to overthrow the capitalist system in favour of the structuralist approach (Perry, 2009). Marxists will always argue that the most important thing is the question of how a small group of people can exploit a vast majority of the population. They would study the power and wealth and look at the importance of social class division (Fulcher, J et al, 2007). Karl Marx believed there were only two basic classes’ the middle and the working class. Marx called the middle class the Bourgeoisie as they were either land owners or the bosses of factories and controlled society.
Asses the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism. The Marxist view is just one of many perspectives of the main role of the family. They believe that the family serves the interests of capitalism and the Bourgeoisie, and helps to maintain class equality. They also belie that the family model allows for the main provider (the man) to go out to work where the middle class take advantage of their labour. This idea is at odds with the functionalists view that the family benefits society and the family members.
Capitalism vs. Socialism – Which is the moral social system? When discussing social systems, as capitalism and socialism, one must consider the influence that each [system] had in many countries on grounds of morality. For instance, both systems share moral advantages and failures that have been attributed to societies throughout years. Socialism is an economic and social system, with strong emphasis on the role of government and the economic equality between people in the society. In contrast, capitalism is the social system which relies on the free market and private enterprise as the solution for a better society, implying economic inequality as a moral and as a human right.
Education acts as a bridge between primary socialisation and secondary socialisation, therefore teaching us to adopt the same norms and values and socialising young people into the basic values of society. If education teaches a consensus then it teaches all the values and mannerisms that haven’t been learnt at home, for the wider world. This helps the transmission from one to the other. A criticism of this theory is that this theory could appear to be an ‘over-socialised view’ on society and the education system. It also implies that all students will agree and comply with the norms and values when that is not the case, the transmission of norms and values may not always be successful some pupils will openly reject them.