Sociological Theories

Sociological Theories

1. Functionalism

   • Was popular in the 1950s - it is basic and simplistic view of society
   • DURKHEIM argued that society exists above the individual and the people's behaviour is shaped by social forces
     • He argued that our sense of culture and identity is the result of being socialised into a modern society
       • Described these shared ways of thinking as the 'collective conscience' of society
         • Believed that industrialisation could undermine value consensus and cultural conformity because we have become more individualised, therefore less like each other
           • Durkheim called this 'anomie' meaning that social order would be weaken
   • Argue that in order for societies to exist, there must be a shared sense of social order
     • Without this societies would disintegrate into chaos and anarchy
       • Durkheim suggested that society needs to be based on the 'value consensus' which is a share agreement about what is worthwhile and desirable
   • Starts with the idea that we all have basic needs to be met to survive
     • This means we need social order - this requires cooperation and social solidarity
   • Functionalists see society as a system - all parts work together to form a whole
     • Sociologists believe each have a 'function' in society and together they work to maintain the social system
   • They see 'role allocation' as functional
     • They believe we live in a meritocratic society and all can achieve
   • Criticised for exaggeration of cultural consensus
     • Social conflict between social groups neglected
       • Durkheim sees people as less important than society and culture
         • However Durkheim is probably accurate that there is a core culture that is shaped by the majority

2. Marxism

   • Also see society and human behaviour as a response to the system
     • Don't believe society has an agreed consensus but an ideology
       • People may be unaware of conflicts that would divide them and may not realise that some people are taken advantage of (exploited)
         • Conflict is seen as a basic characteristic of society, it is divided into infrastructure and the superstructure
           • The infrastructure is capitalism, the economic base and the superstructure is the rest of society including political, legal and educational system
             • Superstructure reflects the wishes of the ruling class and therefore protects them
               • The beliefs and values of society produce a ruling class ideology and this produces a 'false class consciousness' that stops people from seeing that they are expolited and oppressed
   • Argued that the economic base is in control of the working class
     • Ruling class - bourgeoisie
       • Own the means of production
         • Exploit and oppress the working class
     • Working class - proletariat
       • Would realise they are being exploited and overthrow the ruling class
         • Leading to a communist society where everyone is equal
   • To deterministic and reductionist
     • Doesn't take gender, religion, ethnicity ect as causes of inequality
       • Assumes that the masses are passive victims of capistalist society

3. Interactionism

   • Concerned with interactions, actions between individuals, and therefore we must interpret the meanings of the actions.
     • Meanings are not fixed; they depend on the context of the interaction
   • Interactionists are interested in the process by which meaning is constructed - how does an individual come to be defined in a certain way?
     • They look at the construction of meanings in interactions
       • It can depend on language, gestures, appearance, manners, context and location
   • Becker states the labelling theory with states that how others see us can affect who we become
     • This is called a self-fulfilling prophecy

4. Social Action

   • Believe that human actions are meaningful, they define situations and give it meaning
     • The role of sociology is to discover the meanings to understand actions
       • Like Interactionists, they see 'insight and understanding' as important.
         • The need is to discover the meanings of actions
   • Criticised for being vague in explaining who is responsible in explaining who is responsible for defining norms in behaviour
     • They do not say who makes the rules - don't explain the origin of power

5. Feminists

   • See society as divided into different social groups - divide between gender
     • They believe that men exploit women and therefore we live in a patriarchal society
   • Liberal Feminists
     • Have fought for more equality for women in work and have achieved things such as the Equal Pay Act and Sexual Discrimantion Act of the 1970s
       • Believe that equality can be achieved in the current systems
   • Radical Feminists
     • Believe equality would only be achieved by getting rid of men

6. Post Modernism

   • Tried to explain changes and seek ways for further progress
     • Modernity is seen as fragmenting and being replaced by a post-modern world where sociological ideas and concepts are irrelevent
   • Work
     • Moved from mass production to individualised work in the service sector
       • The service sector often involves processing information, or working in areas of consumption
   • Culture
     • As society has grown wealthier, so have cultural industries such as fashion, film, advertising and music - they are now central to how we organise our lives
     • Some argue with live in a 'media saturated' society in which media is avaliable on how to do up homes, gardens, partners, selves
     • Consumption is now a defining feature of lives
   • Identity
     • Now influenced by mainstream culture which celebrate diversity, consumerism and choice
     • The old 'me' and where I came from in terms of family and class is now replaced by the new postmodern 'me' which is about designed label, being seen in the right seen in the right places, about the car I drive, the clothes I wear and the music I listen to
   • Globalisation
     • Globalisation has resulted in symbols that are recognised and consumed world wide
     • Brands like Coca Cola use World Cup events and the Olympic games beam themselves into millions of homes across the world
     • Global culture is challenging the importance of national culture and local culture
       • It challenges nationalism as a source of ethinicty
   • Knowledge
     • People are sceptical about the power of science to change the world, because technology has caused problem
     • They stress the relativity of knowledge, ideas and lifestyles, such that many different but equally authenitic values are possible
   • Making too much of social change - changes in class, gender and ethnicity are overexaggreted
     • Consumption has increased
       • They nature of what you consumer and how much depends on income