Consensus Structuralism

Structural theorists - analyse society as a system of different parts that work together; functionalism stresses consensual nature of society, Durkheim called it social solidarity
Functionalism
1. Organic analogy - used by Talcott parsons (1951) to show how society acts like an organism; organism has organs which are interconnected and interdependent, metaphor for societies institutions.
  1. change - functionalists see this as evolution; if there's a change in one part of society other parts will slowly evolve to adapt to change.
  2. Social ills - e.g. excessive crime will have a disabling effect and will gradually infect other parts.
2. Conformity - interrelations can only happen bc all members have value consensus; individual receive these norms through socialisation and conditioning/social control (conformity rewarded, non-conformity punished)
  1. Durkheim' anomie - if society changes too quickly norms are lost before new ones can be created; leads to moral confusion and social instability.
3. Societies needs met by 4 major subsystems
  1. instrumental needs, material
    1. Political Subsystem - political parties and trade unions
    2. Economic subsystem - industry
  2. expressive needs, emotional
    1. Kinship Subsystem - marriage and family
    2. Cultural subsystem - schools and churches
4. Explains everything - through the work of comte, Durkheim and Parsons functionalism became the first macro theory; useful how it shows linkages between institutions of society.
  1. helps to explain actions which may seem strange; Durkheim (1897) studied suicide and showed how social structure and problems in the world cause people to commit suicide. not just an individual act but part of a wider social picture.
5. Criticisms
  1. ignores differences and conflicts - Merton (1968) is a functionalist who believes that what is good for one group may cause problems for another.
  2. Dennis Wrong (1961) - functionalists give too much importance to society in determining someone's behaviour; no free will just determinism.
  3. always see the positive purpose of something; durkheim argued if a social phenomenon didn't fulfil a function it wouldn't exist.
  4. conflict theorists see functionalism as a conservative approach which upholds inequality and injustice; argued that problems of working class, ethic minorities and women haven't been adequitely explained.
  5. functionalists believe in meritocracy (people will succeed on their own merits, this suggests society is already fair so pointless to try and improve equality.
  6. Postmodernists argue that today's society is too diverse for functionalism to be relevant; value consensus can't account for the variety of lifestyles and values in postmodern society.
The New Right - believe traditional institutions and values in society are what maintains social order.
1. Family - one of the most important social institutions; socialises children and reinforces traditional gender roles. favour nuclear family and think marriage is crucial.
2. New Right believe society is breaking down and this has come from a decline in traditional moral standards; they blame changing family structure, the welfare state and sexual freedom (e.g. homosexuals).
3. Criticisms by feminists
  1. wants women to focus on marriage and children, not work; this is harmful to women's rights.
  2. Abbott and Wallace (1990) - wrong to prioritise marriage so much, some women feel trapped and unhappy, can even be abused in marriage.
  3. New Right thinking is an attempt to justify patriarchal society.

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Consensus Structuralism

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	Created by Connor Hargrave about 9 years ago