However all of these are viewed from different perspectives such as functionalism, Marxism, interactionism and post modernism. Whilst both have some similarities they are in fact very different as functionalism is based on Consensus when Marxism is based on conflict.
Similarities include
They both offer a macro-explanation of society. So they both look at the overall structure of society, rather than looking at individual views.
Functionalists and Marxist both see that human behaviour is directed by an external force. (Functional Prerequisite for functionalism, and Economic force for Marxist).
Both theories view society as a system of social structures and both agree that these social structures exist within a society.
Both focus on the needs of the economy.
Functionalists and Marxists stress the importance of socialization process in order to promote solidarity.
Whilst there are some similarities both are diametrically opposed in their interpretation of the social system as functionalism is based on consensus.
Functionalism originally borrowed ideas from biology. They see each part of society as having a function e.g. each part of the body has a function and need one another to work as a whole. Functionalists see society as having a structure, with key institutions performing vital functions and roles directing people how to behave. Parson sees all societies as having a value consensus, a general agreement about what is desirable and valuable. Individuals will be ranked in accordance whatever their values are. Functionalism came from a man called Emile Durkheim who focused on the Consensus theory. This theory believes that everyone gets higher up due to hard work. They overlook the details in everything and all the cultural and gender and religious differences that effect a person and family. They don’t take anything into account and have traditional views on the family such as the traditional gender role.
Emile Durkheim, a French academic developed the ideas of comte, especially his ideas of scientific observation to study human behaviour. Durkheim believed that in all societies there has to be some form of generally agreed principles, norms and values upon which a system of trust can be based. This called the collective conscience which is a common agreement by society formed on the basis of a moral social order which he referred to as social solidarity. Functionalists use the organic analogy to explain both change and social structure were change occurs through a gradual process as society develops, it organically adjusts and adapts naturally to change.
Auguste Comte had a significant part in the formation of sociology. Comte was the founder of French positivism. Comte can also be given credit for inventing or coining the term sociology. Positivists believe that human behaviour can be objectively measured. Comte's philosophy of positivism developed from historical studies of the human mind. This led to Comte's views of the three stages of the history of sciences. In order as follows, the stages are:
Theological - nature has a will of its own. This stage is broken down into three stages of its own, including animism, polytheism, and monotheism. Metaphysical state - though substituting ideas for a personal will and Positive - a search for absolute knowledge.
Comte was claiming that it was possible to study human behaviour scientifically just as the scientist in the laboratory studied human matter and able to explain the relationship between cause and effect.
Durkheim was concerned primarily with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in the modern era, when things such as shared religious and ethnic background could no longer be assumed. In order to study social life in modern societies, Durkheim sought to create one of the first scientific approaches to social phenomena. Along with Herbert Spencer, Durkheim was one of the first people to explain the existence and quality of different parts of a society by reference to what function they served in keeping the society healthy and balanced, and is thus sometimes seen as a precursor to functionalism. Durkheim focused not on what motivates the actions of individual people but rather on the study of social facts, a term which he coined to describe phenomena which have an existence in and of themselves and are not bound to the actions of individuals.
Marxism is completely different in its interpretation and was founded by Karl Marx and it is a theory that believes society is divided by class. They believe that the rich (upper class or bourgeoisie) control and exploit the poor (proletariat). They believe that this would eventually lead to a proletariat revolution and lead to communism. Karl Marx “was very interested in the economic conditions of the age and assumed that the economic ideas were the most important factors governing people behaviour”.
Karl Marx argued that everything is determined by the economy, or what he referred to as “the mode of production”. Marx also argues that societies result from humans getting together to produce food, he says “the forces of production shape social relationships”.
The infrastructure shapes other parts of society such as the government, family life, the education system and religion, viewed as a whole it’s known as the superstructure. Most societies are based upon exploitation of some groups by others. Those who own the means of production such as factories and land, exploit those who work for them and who lack the means to produce things themselves. Capitalists (the bourgeoisie) exploit their workers (the proletariat) by paying them less and capitalists accumulate profits and get richer and richer. According to Marx, capitalism largely shapes the . Without the education system, the economy would become a massive failure as without education we are without jobs and employment which is what keeps society moving. Education helps to maintain the bourgeoisie and the proletariat so that there can workers producing goods and services and others benefiting from it. Schools transmit an ideology which states that capitalism is just and reasonable. The ruling class project their view of the world which becomes the consensus view
In capitalist societies, the ruling class owns the means of production, it tries to use the superstructure e.g. the government, legal system, religion and the mass media to persuade workers that society is fair and just in order to prevent workers from rebelling against their exploitation. If it succeeds, ruling-class ideology is dominant and creates false class consciousness (a mistaken belief that society is fair) amongst workers. Entfremdung (estrangement) is Karl Marx’s theory of alienation, which describes the separation of things that naturally belong together; and the placement of antagonism between things that are properly in harmony.
Marx predicted that the working class would get poorer (pauperisation); that the rich would get richer and that society would move to two different diametrically opposed areas (polarisation); Marx believed that the middle class would be sucked into one of these areas but would not remain a separate entity and that a class struggle between the rich and the poor would lead to revolution in which the poor would remove the rich.
A conflicting example of the family from both perspectives are,
The functionalist perspective has focused on the functions of the family in society and for its members. In other words, it looks at how the family, as an institution, helps in maintaining order and stability in society, and the significance of the family for its individual members. Two well-known functionalists who have written about the family are George. P. Murdock and Talcott.
George Murdock (1949) has carried out a study involving 250 families. From his analysis, he has argued that the family performs four basic functions for its individual members and society at large. He has referred to these as the ‘sexual', ‘reproductive', ‘economic' and ‘educational' functions. The family provides the society with new members and assume responsibility for raising them.
Talcott Parsons (1959) has also written about the functions of the family. He has identified two functions that he perceives as being ‘basic and irreducible'. These functions are:
The primary socialisation of children;
The stabilisation of adult personalities of the population of the society.
While Marxists perspective comes from Frederick Engel, which it stressed on the patriarchal structure of families. Basically the Marxism suggested males are the dominant of the whole family. The socialisation in the Marxist view is that the family socialise children into accepting values of capitalism, which to be clear with the status/level within hierarchy. The bourgeois nuclear family emerged with capitalism, this leads to the patriarchal power of male to be dominating the inheritance property. Women, on the opposite side, would be powerless for any decisions to be made within the family but only to obey.
Sociology, david spurling 2010 chapter 1page 2