In order of all parts working together smoothly and efficiently the society is shaped and maintained by common sense and common values (like democracy, equality, opportunities, Christian moral values etc.) All together these form a collective conscience that holds society together. This collective conscience is then transmitted through large-scale units where all individuals in society have shared goals as well as social connections between the individuals are promoted (Coakley and Dunning, 2004)
In a Functionalist’s perspective of class a social stratification is formed by a meritocracy (a government system, based on rules by ability rather than by wealth or other determinants of social position). The individual’s opportunities are not attached to class or gender, etc. but to its own skills which can be improved by training and education. But for a modern industrial society, it requires different skills and abilities in order to achieve effective performance; role differentiation is necessary too. Motivating the members of the society to perform even less important or unskilled occupations in order to maintain society is vital and this can be achieved by rewarding.
The Marxist’s perspective is dominantly based on economic factors and over emphasises them; money is assumed to be everything within society and social life (Maguire and Young, 2002). This in turn leads to assumptions that those owning the productive and therefore economic resources are given the power and use it to control those without to maintain their hegemony. Further factors that can form and shape society like gender, ethnicity, age, culture etc. are not taken into consideration and neglected.
The relationship between sports a society in a Marxist view, according to Coakley (2001) is never set once and for all, due to the changes of interests in the various groups of societies, as it based on shared values of existing conflicts and interests happening at the same time in society. The existence of sport in society is created by the interaction of people to fit their needs and interests, which is more then the needs of the capitalist economy (Dunning 1999, Coakley, 2004). Over time the organisation will reflect how the society is, yet sport can still be used as a way of protest and change. This can be seen by the Nike adverts in football about kicking out racism where famous players are used as icons in protests for the game and society.
Within these two sociological perspectives it is fairly obvious that problems occur. As the Functionalist’s view of society is based on value consensus, this view implements society being a unified system where every individual and member agrees to the same beliefs, norms and values. It has not taken into consideration that the collective conscience will let some members feel constrained as it is assumed that the needs of the society will meet the needs of each individual (Horne, Tomlinson & Whannel, 1999). A Functionalist perspective does not take account of negative factors or aspects. A weakness with this theory is that ‘it is based on the assumption that the needs of all groups within a society are the same as the needs of the society as a whole (Coakley, 2001). This causes us to underestimate the existence of differences and conflicts of interest within a society and to ignore cases where sports benefit some groups more than others which this then limits our understanding of different conflicts and dynamics changes in societies.
The Marxist’s perspective is dominantly based on economic factors and over emphasises them; money is assumed to be everything within society and social life (Coakley, 2004). This in turn leads to assumptions that those owning the productive and therefore economic resources are given the power and use it to control those without to maintain their hegemony. Further factors that can form and shape society like gender, ethnicity, age, culture etc. are not taken into consideration and neglected.
Both perspectives; Marxist and Functionalist do not only have negative aspects but positive and beneficial ones as well, especially when applied to sport. Furthermore a Marxist focuses on the distribution of power in sport. Sport is determined and shaped by the economic system in the hands of the powerful Bourgeoisie and does yet again promote the interest of those: increasing capital, maintaining power and privileges (Jarvie, 2006). Besides labour, sport is another tool of exploiting the working class as sport is just another form of controlling the society through a form of popular entertainment respectively giving access to certain sports only to certain members (Scrambler, 2005).
Commercialisation in sport is another key issue within Marxism. Having identified that turning leisure into a marketing product is just another form of financial exploitation. Merchandising, ticket sales and sponsorship are a further source of making profit. Maguire and Young (2002) state that sport or event itself will not dominate, in fact media coverage will have a major influence on the organisation of an event and the broadcasting times will have to coincide so that it makes the most profit. Many live events get changed due to Sky Sports as they have a major control over how each sport is broadcasted. They purpose select the times of the events changing them around to best suit their needs as this will make the most profit. Sport in this sense has become dependent upon the materialistic criteria (Coakley, 2001) so the prices for broadcasting rights and player transfers have explosively increased and show again the influence of money in the sporting world.
Although the Marxists perspective is aware of inequalities resulting from money in sport, it fails to recognise that sport can have for individuals other possibilities such as creativeness and provision of challenging experiences (Creaven, 2000). In contrast to a Marxist’s view of sport, Functionalists outline different meanings to sport. In general, sport is one part of the Functionalists view in maintaining a society as a whole; it attempts to strengthen a ‘social togetherness’ regardless of social borders. Sport has a socio-emotional function for members of the society (Dunning 1999); they will be able to build up friendship and social skills where by interacting with fellow colleagues. Individuals can release energy and manage their tensions and tempers in a societal acceptable way as sport does underline traditional values like competition, success, etc. Sport can prepare individuals to cope with social qualities like challenges, teaches basic values, norms and beliefs (Coakley, 2004), which can be used in other social situations. Furthermore, sport has a sanitary function to society as it beneficially contributes towards member’s health.
As conclusion about both perspectives it can be said: Marxism ‘leads people to see sport as a reflection of the economic forces operating in society’ (Coakley, 2001 pg29). It stresses the different parts of society that are not suitable e.g. sports and therefore focuses on conflict caused primarily by money. Functionalism in contrast stresses the extent to which the different parts fit together harmoniously (Haralambos and Holborn, 2000). Marxism seems to be a social utopia as a society without exploitation is not realistic whereas Functionalism is a too positive way to describe society, neglecting individual’s needs and further influencing factors. Sport can obviously not only be seen through a Marxist’s or Functionalist’s view but it will benefit if both views are put together to solve the negative aspects of each perspective, this could then form a theory to describe the society today. Which means that society as a whole is so obscure and different from place to place that not one theory can explain what occurs in a society. However Coakley (2001) states that theories are tools that provide us with the framework for asking questions, identifying problems, gathering information, explaining social life, prioritizing strategies to deal with problems and anticipating the consequences of our actions and interventions. So they are still essential to society and helping to understand how we survive and interact with one another.
Reference List
Coakley, J. (2001) Sport in Society: Issues and controversies, London: McGraw Hill
Coakley, J. (2004) Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies 8th edition, London: McGraw Hill
Coakley, J. and Dunning, E. (2004) Handbook of Sports Studies, London: Sage
Creaven, S. (2000) Marxism and Realism: A Materialistic Application of Realism in the Social Sciences, London: Routledge
Dunning, E. (1999) Sport matters: Sociological studies of sport, violence and civilisation, London: Routledge
Dunning, E. Maguire, J. and Pearton, R. (1993) The Sport Process: A Comparative and Development Approach, Leeds: Human Kinetics Publishers
Giddens, A. (2001) Sociology 4th edition, Cambridge: Polity Press
Haralambos, M. and Holborn, M. (2000) Sociology Themes and Perspectives 5th edition, London: HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Horne, J. Tomlinson, A. and Whannel, G. (1999) Understanding Sport: An Introduction to the Sociological and Cultural Analysis of Sport, London: E & FN Spon
Jarvie, G. (2006) Sport, Culture and Society an Introduction, London: Routledge
Maguire, J. and Young, K. (2002) Theory, Sport and Society, London: Elsevier Science
Mashall
Scambler, G. (2005) Sport and Society: History, Power and Culture, Maidenhead: McGraw Hill Education
