Functionalists like Durkheim believe in the “Structural consensus theory” as this explains social life through the learning and acceptance of shared norms and values. This belief of consensus, not conflict is a clear sign of the irrelevance of conflict theories. Instead of the idea of a revolution against capitalism, Durkheim believes that we have already been socialized to accept capitalism through the constraining of individuals by the use of social structures. This idea of socialization is proof of the stability of modern society and why other societies are different depends on the people that make up the overall ‘body’, and the way people behave is defined by the society’s cultural rules. Another perspective using functionalism as a stepping stone is too looking at the individual. As modernity was introduced the individual broke free as society became secular which causes the birth of the ‘Sovereign individual’. As in modernity the universe centers on the individual, it must so equally for everyone. This makes class and gender conflicts irrelevant as the ‘sovereign individual’ reinforces the concept of equality. The functionalist Durkheim introduced the of social facts; these are external to individuals but on them in a constraining way. These can be like s that don't affect the person in society apart from ping a certain aspect of their behavior from occurring. Dusrkheim suggests two ways in which these can occur firstly by determining the cause of it from previous facts, the other that it is needed to one of the functions of society. Both are present in society as a whole, these according to functionalists control and tain the functions of society that is mainly in today's society with as a form of social control
Marxist’s general belief is one concerning class based inequalities across the generations. This means that throughout modernization, traditional Marxists will still believe that the inequalities remain and the changes in the economy only justify them. This is to say that Marxism is irrelevant in today’s modern society as it will only justify the “proletariats” to revolt at the start of an economic crisis. To do this they would need to win the “hearts and minds” of social groups leading to the demise of capitalism. This is closely linked with Gramsci’s theory of “Hegemony” which is the propagation of social groups through the use of social institutes, meaning bourgeoisies can retain dominance without the use of force. This class conflict causes Marxism not only to be irrelevant in modern society; it causes the evolution of modernism to slow down. Tawny believes that there must be equality within classes to have a fair life, BUT there must be inequality between classes so that the bourgeoisies can enjoy their rights. In 1930 Marx stated that "The separate individuals form a class only in so far as they have to carry on a common battle against another class; otherwise they are on hostile terms with each other as competitors".
Weber defined sociology as ‘a science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action’. This ‘social action approach’ allow sociologists to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects. Instead of revolving around conflicts, Interactionalists look at the minds and meanings of ‘social actors’ and the actions they take to achieve certain goals. Weber’s idea of “Verstehen” explains how sociologist can look through the eyes of their subjects in an empathetic way. Of course it is subjects to misinterpreting what the subject is actually seeing, but mostly it allows theories of conflict to be disregarded, as empathy would show a strive for equality not the justification of inequality. Weber would also accentuate disenchantment in today’s society. There is less religion and people do generally not believe in “the magic” of life as much as they used to. This is due to ‘rationalisation the process by which modes of precise calculation based on observation and reason increasingly dominates the social world. Rationalization is a habit of thought that replaces tradition, emotion, and values as motivators of human conduct. Bureaucracy is a particular case of rationalization applied to human social organization’…
In conclusion it seems that Marxism and other theories of conflict are, to a degree, irrelevant to an understanding of modern society as with the rise of science and decline of religion more and more theories of consensus and unity help describe today’s culture. However, without the conflicts of class and gender society would have never evolved into what it is now, because of this it plays a big part in the social structure. We can plainly see that conflict did help in the design of modern society but no longer has a place.