Consensus VS Conflict

Consensus VS Conflict

1. Consensus

   • Theorists
     • Emile Durkheim
       • Suicide, Deviance & Religion
     • Talcott Parsons
       • Family Roles
     • Robert Merton
       • Deviance
   • Key Features
     • The assumption that there is a certain pattern to behaviour
     • Explains behaviour through notion of social structure
     • Tends to use Biological or mechanical analogies to explain theories
     • Functional prerequisites
       • Social basic needs
     • Value Consensus
       • Society shared values
   • Strengths
     • Looks at society as a whole
     • refers to social structure when analysing social behaviour
     • Good at explaining persistence of social phenomena
   • Weaknesses
     • Ignores Individual or group interaction
     • Finds it difficult to explain conflict & change
     • Makes assumptions about value consensus as naturally occurring, inevitable and mutually beneficial

2. Conflict

   • Theorists
     • Karl Marx
       • Capitalism & Class
     • Gramsci
       • Capitalism & hegemony
     • Goldthorpe
       • Class conflict
   • Key Features
     • Sees society as a structured whole
     • society is based on inequality of distribution or production
     • Struggle for power between different groups in society
       • Society characterised by conflict
     • Within Marxism, Ownership & relations of production are the cause of inequalities
       • Society is made of infrastructure & superstructure
     • In other conflict perspectives, inequality of power & wealth may arise from differences in such things as education
   • Strengths
     • Looks at society as a whole and all its interrelated parts
     • Recognises power interests of different groups
     • good at explaining conflict & change
   • Weaknesses
     • difficult to explain persistence of certain phenomena
     • Individual & small group interaction plays little part in these types of explanations

3. Similarities

   • Structural theory
     • Macro - Society shapes individual
   • Look at wider aspects of society such as power and economy & government

4. Differences

   • Consensus theorists view society as being made up of Social Institutions being dependent on one another.
     • Conflict theorists view society as having an Infrastructure and Superstructure
   • Consensus Theorist argue there is value consensus that holds society together
     • Conflict theorists disagree and argue values are imposed by powerful groups in society even though everyone may not agree