Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist views of society. Sociology has been classified as the last in a long line of emerging scientific disciplines which people have developed and explored in order to make sense of their world. Early theories such as the positivist approach of Comte, the functionalist views of Emile Durkheim and the conflict perspectives of Karl Marx have offered a view of why human beings behave as they do and how they fit together in society. Each theory has to some extent been shaped or influenced by the approach of others and many sociological explanations have comparisons or contrast that can be made. Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour".
Or we can say that conflict theory deals with the incompatible aspects of human society. Conflict theory emerged out of the sociology of conflict, crisis and social change. Consensus theory, on the other hand, is a sociological perspective or collection of theories, in which social order and stability/social regulation forms the base of emphasis. In other words consensus theory is concerned with the maintenance or continuation of social order in society; in relation to accepted norms, values, rules and regulations as widely accepted or collectively by the society-or within a particular society- itself. It Emerged out of the sociology of social order and social stability/social regulation.
Particularly striking in this conception is the notion of inventory, which suggests multiple ontologies and the need to collate. The assumptions about the nature of the world in sociology can be classified into two broad orientations, realism and social constructivism. Realism posits the existence of an objective reality independent of human thoughts and beliefs. Contrary to this position, social constructionism is of the view that reality is not independent of human thoughts and beliefs; rather, it is socially constructed (Oxford dictionary of sociology, 552-553, 609). Berger and Luckmann (1967:15-22) argue that social relativity is inherent in reality and knowledge, hence, its collection is defined by social contexts imperative for sociological analysis.
Its theories were then taken on within the work of Emile Durkheim and a lot more recently by Talcott Parsons in America 1940-50's. From as far as functionalism has gone back, from about the 1830's onwards, it has been largely based on society being a system like the human body requiring a combination of social institutions in order to function. Its theorists seek to explain the existence of social institutions in accordance to the role they perform for society and focuses on society rather than the individual in it and hence it is a structural theory. Functionalist uses positivist methodology which is currently at decline as a modern research technique. Within society the functionalists outline what they call functional prerequisites, these are what society requires in order to exist.
Hirschman (1977) stipulated that most people perceived market to be the force behind civilisation. In the earlier centuries, through market relations, people socialised and maintained strong relations that barred them from fighting each other. However, as time lapsed, this idea changed and towards the lapse of the 19th century, the contrary took its shape. Economists such as Karl Marx came up to argue that capitalist society intended to undermine its morality
Social structure has to be seen as comprising both institutions and relations. There are two major approaches to ‘contemporary social theory’, the Marxian materialist approach and the structural functionalist approach. The materialist approach was developed from the work of Karl Marx (1818), who believed that the economic order shapes society. The functionalist approach was developed from the work of Comte and Durkheim, stating that is the combination of all of society's institutions that shapes
In the position as a student of sociology, I believe the Functionalist theory best describes society. The functionalist theory is viewed to sociologist as society to a living organism. Each part serves an important role in keeping society together. Many sociologist classify this theory as macro-level; large in scale. Including social institutions, a system of behavioral and relationship patterns, having specific roles to perform to make society.
In the context of Marx’s writings, scholars speak of two Marx: the young and the old. While the old Marx was more deterministic with his in-depth study of the workings of capitalism, the young Marx was concerned with alienation, human nature and morality. However, there is disagreement to when Marx's thought began to mature, and the problem of the idea of a "Young Marx" is the problem of tracking the development of Marx's works and of its possible unity. The problem thus centers on Marx's transition from philosophy to economics. This essay will focus on the works of Marx prior to 1846 specifically on the dominant theme of alienation and freedom.
FUNTIONALIST THEORY AND THER MAJOR TENENTS The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspective in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable .A perspective is a point of view. Major tenants are people who contributed in the theory example Herbert Spencer Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton. A concept is a fundamental category of existence. In contemporary philosophy there are least three prevailing ways to understand the concepts.
ON PHENOMENOLOGICAL SOCIOLOGY [1] james L. heap and phillip A. roth University of British Columbia American Sociological Review 1973, Vol. 38 (June): 354-367 The works of Tiryakian, Bruyn and Douglas are examined as representative of "phenomenological sociology." Radical problems are discovered in their use of key concepts in phenomenology: intention, reduction, phenomenon and essence. These problems are shown to arise out of a failure to grasp the nature of the phenomenological enterprise and its relationship to sociology. Turning back to the original formulation of this relationship by Husserl, we discover problems of transcendental intersubjectivity, of type and essence, and of objectivism.