Discuss the key concepts within, and state the similarities and differences between, the following theories: Functionalism and Marxism.

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HNC SOCIAL SCIENCE

SOCIOLOGY B – INTERPRETING AND APPLYING SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Essay

Discuss the key concepts within, and state the similarities and differences between, the following theories: Functionalism and Marxism.

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Submission date: 14/11/06

Word count: 2148

Within sociology there are a number of varying theories and theorists interested in explaining and understanding the social world. This can be achieved through ‘the sociological imagination’ a term coined by C. Wright Mills in 1959. He believed that ‘the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. That is its task and its promise’ (1959 C. Wright Mills)

Functionalism is one such theory. It first appeared in 19th century Europe and was largely influenced in its early stages by French sociologist Emile Durkheim and later developed by American sociologists such as Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. The theory was most influential during the 1940’s and 50’s but declined in popularity during the 60’s. However many functionalist ideas have survived in the guise of New Right thinking which was closely related to British and American policy making particularly during the 1980’s.

Functionalism may be regarded as a macro theory, this means that a functionalist will look at a society as a whole and investigate the relationships formed between its various parts or institutions rather than focusing on individual or small group interactions that would be of interest to theories such as Weber’s social action theory.

This particular approach is also known as a structural consensus perspective as it assumes that a certain degree of order and stability is essential in the maintenance of social systems. [The Consensus Perspective, October 3, 2006]

 It implies that society and social behaviour is all structured and governed by rules which appear in the form of values, providing a basic guideline for behaviour, or in the form of the more specific directives of roles and norms. [Haralambos & Holborn 6th ed.] For example within the family there are a number of roles such as mother, father, brother or sister which in turn are governed or structured by a set of relating norms. Therefore institutions such as the family, religion, law, education and political systems can be seen as a structured collection of roles and norms designed to reinforce accepted patterns of behaviour. To maintain social order these rules must be reinforced through social controls in the form of formal or informal sanctions such as a fixed fine penalty or a disapproving look, respectively.  

Functionalists continue by stressing the importance of compatibility between the institutions, arguing that they are inter-related and inter-connected in their maintenance of society, much like the human body and its various organs. [Haralambos & Holborn 6th ed.] If an organ such as the heart were to fail, the whole system would fail and the organism would die. Likewise functionalists believe that for society to survive each institution must perform a function and work in accordance with the rest of society.

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These functions or system requirements are often called functional prerequisites. This is based on the idea that society has basic survival needs. For example a means of producing food and shelter or a system for socialising new members of society may be regarded as prerequisites, as without food and shelter members of society would not survive. Similarly without socialisation, whereby new members learn the culture, language and values of their society, social life would become impossible. Therefore it is argued that the economic system is functional in that it provides food and shelter, while one of the major functions ...

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