Lesson 12 Functionalism and Conflict Theory Robert Wonser SOC 368 – Classical Sociological Theory Spring 2014

22 Functionalism Society is “like an organism” Emphasis on social integration or social solidarity and emergent properties Social institutions and organizations are evaluated in terms of their social functions

When an element of society becomes obsolete or counter-productive it becomes dysfunctional Societies can become “sick” Crime, poverty, conflict are not dysfunctional, but instead are necessary components of society “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” 3

What happens when societies become large?  they increase in complexity  they become more differentiated  a division of labor emerges (specialization)  the aspects of society are integrated based upon functional interdependence 4

Emphasis is on the whole, and how the parts contribute to the whole Social stability and social structure is emphasized A macro theory 5

The Sociological Theories of Talcott Parsons ( ) Parsons was the dominant figure in Sociology from the 1930’s to the early 1970’s. By the end of the 1970’s Parsons’ theory was almost entirely obsolete. The Structure of Social Action (1937) Parsons’ first major work Parsons is reading European sociologists who had very received little exposure in the United States:  Emile Durkheim  Max Weber 6

Parsons’ central question: How is social order possible? Parsons is critical of the American theorists that had focused upon the rational actor, or homo economicus. Parsons’ theory is a theory of action and attempts to describe individual action as a sociological phenomenon. 7

Who does this remind you of? 8

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Parsons’ Structural Functionalism: The Social System (1951) Basic Assumptions of functionalism: society is like an organism societies must have some important force of social integration societies have needs (functional imperatives): 10

AGIL 11

Parsons’ functional theory of society asserts that society is like an organic system of interrelated parts: 1.social systems have an internal order 2.social systems are functionally interdependent 3.social systems tend towards homeostasis or equilibrium (balance) Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 12

4.a change in one part of the social system affects other parts of the system 5.social systems create boundaries with their environment 6.the integration of the system and the allocation of resources within the system are essential for equilibrium 13

Four action systems are instrumental in the functioning of any society: cultural system social system personality system behavioral organism 14

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Social System Individual actors interacting through time guided by culture and organized through “status-role complex” Status – “social position” Role – “expected behavior of one who occupies a status” Social system must carry the value-orientations provided by the cultural system, and meet the needs of the personality systems. Social system is responsible for socialization and social control (it is the means by which culture becomes integrated into personalities) 16

Cultural System Patterned system of symbols, values, norms, and beliefs that provides the basis for social integration This is probably the most important system in Parsons’ theory (a theory of “cultural determinism”) Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 17

Personality System a motivational orientation carried by actors composed of “need-dispositions” 1.need for love and social approval 2.need to adhere to cultural standards 3.need to meet role expectations Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 18

Behavioral Organism Behavioral organism: the material source of energy for the rest of the systems (the physical body) Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 19

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Conflict Theory Emphasizes conflict and power struggles as the foundation of societies. Emphasis on social change Systems of social inequality, stratifications, and social classes are main topics of investigation 22

Conflict Theory The point of theory is provide a model for changing the world Central question: What is the basis for oppression in a society? A macro theory 23

Conflict Theory Many dimensions of conflict are discussed:  economic/class  power  social status  gender  access to education  cultural and symbolic violence  control over the body  control over consciousness 24

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Ralf Dahrendorf’s (1929-present) Conflict Theory Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society (1959) Dahrendorf begins with structural functional assumptions about social structure: statuses roles “status-role complex” Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 26

But, in a division of labor, not every occupation (status) is equal: Dahrendorf argues that most status are differentiated by authority Some status positions have a great deal of authority, while others have very little The authority attached to social positions is social power Social structures and organizations can be understood as a means for distributing power and classifying people into two groups:  1. super-ordinates (order-givers)  2. sub-ordinates (order-takers) 27

In authority relations there is a fundamental dichotomy: those who have power and those who do not have power This dichotomy provides the basis for conflict in virtually any situation because these two groups have different interests. Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 28

Dahrendorf defines interests as: "structurally generated orientations of the actions of incumbents of defined positions”  Those With Authority: Maintain status quo  Those Without Authority: Change status quo This conflict of interests is the basis of conflict according to Dahrendorf. Each group’s “interests” are latent interests until they become conscious … then they become manifest interests. When manifest interests ≠ latent interests, false consciousness occurs Lesson 8: Early Women Sociologists, Classical Sociological Theory 29

C. Wright Mills’ Power Elite Military Corporate Political Where do we fit in? 30

Recent Developments in Marxist Conflict Theory (Neo-Marxism) Conflict Theory has tended to take two different paths following the ideas of:  Karl Marx  Max Weber (Dahrendorf and Collins) Those that have followed in Marx’s footsteps have attempted to answer these questions: Why did the communist revolution not occur? Why have the conflicts predicted by Marx not happened? 31

Answers to these questions have taken two forms: World-Systems Theory: the communist conflicts have not occurred because capitalism has expanded in scale through geographic colonization – the capitalist market is now a global market (external) Critical Theory (Frankfurt School): capitalist systems have absorbed conflict by selling conflict as a lifestyle through the colonization of experience (internal) 32