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Conflict/Functionalist Theories

CAPE Caribbean SociologyConflict and Functionalist TheoriesWolmers Boys SchoolPrepared byChristopher A Humber

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Conflict/Functionalist Theories

KARL MARX EMILE DURKHEIM

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CONFLICT THEORYBegins with Marx and his analysis of historyThesis/antithesis = struggle (conflict)Synthesis = a new order is produced because of the struggle between the classesAll of history can be understood in this wayThree stages of history: feudalism, capitalism & socialism (it was an inevitable destination!) (Many call it communism)

Always a struggleThematerialist view of history = the most important determinant of social life is the work people are doing, especially work that results in provision of the basic necessities of life, food, clothing and shelter.Marx thought that the way the work is socially organized and the technology used in production will have a strong impact on every other aspect of society.

Power=ownershipHe maintained that everything of value in society results from human labour. Thus,Marxsaw working men and women as engaged in making society, in creating the conditions for their own existence.Every part of human history and existence must be understood through the lens of social/economic theoryAll relationships are based on conflict/struggleWho has the power? Who wants it? Who owns the resources?

Only 1 institution: private propertyThe central institution of capitalist society isprivate property, the system by whichcapital(that is, money, machines, tools, factories, and other material objects used in production) is controlled by a small minority of the population. This leads to two opposedclasses, the owners of capital (called thebourgeoisie) and the workers (called the proletariat), whose only property is their own labour time, which they have to sell to the capitalists.

Economic exploitation leads directly to politicaloppression, as owners make use of their economic power to gain control of the state and turn it into a servant of bourgeois economic interests. Police power, for instance, is used to enforce property rights and guarantee unfair contracts between capitalist and worker.

Conflict theory + marriage

The Marriage Scam1884Built on Marxs ideasMonogamy is an invention to control sexual reproductionMarriage is a social construct to guarantee private property to biological childrenConclusion: marriage is exploitation of women

Oppression is everywhere!The economic structure of society moulds thesuperstructure, including ideas (e.g., morality, ideologies, art, and literature) and the social institutions that support the class structure of society (e.g., the state, the educational system, the family, and religious institutions).What do you think? Is school oppressive?

Conflict theory & private schoolsBecause the dominant orruling class(the bourgeoisie) controls the social relations of production, the dominantideologyin capitalist society is that of the ruling class. Ideology and social institutions, in turn, serve toreproduceand perpetuate the economic class structure.Does private school education perpetuate the class system? What do you think?

Functionalist theory / Durkheim

First theory in sociologyTwo fundamentals: 1- application of scientific method (sociologists must be objective & without bias) 2- institutions fulfill basic human needs and all groups play a role in achieving equilibrium

Balance, equilibrium, stabilityKey words for functionalismThink of any system that must co-ordinate its parts for survival (body & organs)A social system with needs that must be metWhen change in one group happens, other groups must adjust, adapt, respond...to accommodate for the change, finding the equilibrium againHOMOEOSTASIS IS THE KEY WORD HERE

A society isA system of inter-related partsA change in one affects the othersMost changes are the result of evolution or natural progression of ideas and social changeDurkheim was influenced by Darwin`s workFunctionalism focuses on the individual and how social forces influence him (Macro perspective)

The social selfFunctionalism understands the individual to be a product of social forces in the environmentAlmost puppet-like (has been the criticism)The individual`s place in the social structure will determine their actionsInternalized social expectations and act accordingly in order to satisfy the needs of the groupSocial control may be explicit or implicit

Functionalist want to PREDICT behaviourThis explains the emphasis on the scientific methodShared values (solidarity) is key to group cohesivenessExample: laws, rules, constitutions are an explicit expression of supreme values (justice, freedom) that are held in common by a group/society

Functionalism is amacroapproach to studying society; it defines society as asystem of interrelated parts. A good metaphor is the body with its interrelated organs that all work together to produce the state of health of the person. It has built in mechanisms that maintain stasis or balance. (Sweating, shivering, etc.)

In society, when things happen to provoke change or throw it off kilter, other mechanisms come into play to help bring back to a balance. Sometimes this new balance is slow change, in the case of people`s values changing faster than the laws or the other way around. What examples can you think of to prove this theory?

Conflict + Functionalist