Sociology of Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Post-Modernism - Essay Example

 Sociology of Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Post-Modernism In their attempts to explain how different things happen the way they do within the society, Sociologist have come up with numerous theories, each of which looks at various facets of the society from a rather unique point of view. In one way or the other, each of these theories has succeeded in explaining many things about the society. However, there have also been many critics against the arguments raised in these theories. This paper attempts to explain the theories of: Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Post-modernism and how they relate to individual life and business in relation to the society as a whole. Key words: System, Function, Role, Organ, Social. Sociological Theory of Functionalism According to (Magill, 1993, p. 786) functionalism is the main theory that tries to explain the association that enables the society function in the manner it does by examining these relationships and establishing their purpose. It looks at society as a structure of interrelated organs. All organs must be in a consensus and must have a common interest to achieve. (Grusky, 2008) observes that functionalism is said to be supportive to social stratification system. Stratification system refers to the difficulty of social institutions that generate observed inequalities”, in short social stratification is the grouping of people based on the functions which must be met by the society. Grusky notes that in every society all valued goods are allocated unequally, with the most honored persons or families enjoying an unbalanced share. Functionalism dictates that so that society fulfills its intended aims, then social stratification would have to be the criterion that determines the efficiency by which goals are met by way of duty allocation as well as routine. This in turn brings about disproportion within the society. This theory paves the way to explaining the existence and causes of inequality in the society as not every member would hold the same socio economic or political status, this creates a state of disequilibrium as earlier stated by Grusky (2008), allowing the privileged to acquire better roles while the less privileged end up having lesser roles. The rules of allocation of roles across various groups through this system would ensure unequal control of valued positions, divisions of labor and even resources According to (Magill, 1993,p. 787) functionalism ensures that the roles of the society are always met through the mechanism of stratification and ensures inequality in all areas of the society from education , politics, economic and social status as roles to be filled are taken up by those better positioned or suited to take them. (Magill, 1993) observes further that functionalism theory is concerned with trying to explain the relationships in large scale social structures. He also notes that functionalists try to explain why certain conditions exist in the society by trying to ascertain their purpose or function and how this functions work to meet to meet the perceived goals of the society in relation to the conflict theory which says that the struggle or strain in the society is indirect cause to functionalism. Herbert Spenser (1820-1903) concludes that, through social stratification, functionalism holds that the society is made up of structures or groups. These structures, through general consensus, work towards a shared goal who popularizes the theory from Augustus Comte (1798-1857) by drawing parallels to Charles Darwin’s(1809-1882) work on biology, which says that, for a species to survive the environmental changes of its habitat, it has to adapt to its environment. Spencer drew his analogy in comparison to the human body, which has different parts with different functions and are connected to make a whole. With this comparison, Spencer likened the family which is the basic foundation of the society with a body and concluded that the society had to adapt to changes in order for it to meet its goals so that it may survive. This evolutionary adaptation of social systems never posed a problem to functionalists according to Magill (1993), since such changes tend to occur without disrupting the existing social system. This observation, however, begs the question of what would happen when conflictive forms of change are to occur. The theory of functionalism focuses primarily on the relationships between the different organs in the society and how these organs adapt and change, the evolutionary view sees these changes, occur slowly, allowing adaptation and change to occur but more conflictive forms of change have however leads to challenge the theory of functionalism. This is because this forms of change lead to disharmony in the society as was observed by a various numbers of sociologists like Talcott Parson (1902-1979) and Max Weber (1864-1920). Parson was for the argument that the social strain was natural in order for the society to grow. His view supports the concept of destructive change as functional as societies that went through this form of change would find consensus and equilibrium. This concept maybe used in the summation of latter twentieth century functionalism change such as “internal (recession or depression) or external (war)”. Although Robert K. Merton (1910) observes that not all that happens in the society leads to equilibrium, he observed that some changes though beneficial to some were dysfunctional to others. He, however, maintains that these dysfunctions could be beneficial if one distinguished between manifest functions which are intended and latent functions which were unintended. A good example is in sports where there is a clear winner and a loser. Merton ascertained that completion was good especially in economic grounds as there is a winner and a loser but also saw that completion was beneficial to the consumer who gets improved products at a reduced cost. Social deviance as observed by Durkheim’s, (Covington, 1999, p.2 ) investigation of social order demonstrated that there was the possibility of societal collapse if its ethics are not continuously endorsed and passed from a generation to another. However, Durkheim noted that the upkeep of values is critical for a society’s existence. Absence of this would lead to the death of the society. For a society to thrive there has to be creation of law. “Functionalism deals with large social units and tries to show the relationship between these units” (Magill, 1993, p. 788) Magill notes further that for a society to survive, certain changes have to happen. This is the rule of adaptation which was seen during the agrarian revolution. In this revolution, social-political economic as well as religious organizations had to transform to retain significance. This period saw many changes in Europe’s socioeconomic and political arena. There was drastically growth and sustenance of the society as cities were formed, industries came up and the traditional form of agriculture was abandoned in order to adopt better ways of farming to cater for the growing population. Image 1 (Adapted from work the system, 2009, p.8) Image 2 (Adapted from human physiology, 2005 p.15) The images here show functionalism in different ways. Together they depict the relationship among different organizations. Image 1, which is a machine with many gears of different sizes, shows how each object plays its role towards making the machine work. In comparison, society is very much like the machine as it has different organs playing different roles but all making up a whole organization whose goal is defined by the co-working of different parts. Image two shows the anatomy of the human body that is made up of different parts: eyes, hands, mouth, legs among many others. The functions of these organs are different but they all form the same body just like in a society. How functionalism relates to me as an individual Every person has an individual role to play within their society. That role is important in seeing the overall goals of the society achieved. It is imperative that every individual functions as a part of the larger community or as an organ of the larger body. As an entity of my society, it is required of me to function and do my part to the optimum because this, at the very end, determines how far my society will go in realizing its goals. Functionalism enables me to realize that every individual’s participation, however seemingly insignificant, is equally important. Functionalism in relation to clients From a business point of view, functionalism ensures completion of the whole chain of supply. It ensures delivery of services and goods at the right time and with the right quality. When every player, right from; Manufacturer to primary and secondary consumers play their roles as expected, eventually there is a smooth flow of service delivery as opposed to when some entities within the chain fail to function. In order for business to run sustainably, all individual players must function effectively and timely. Failure to this, leads to the ultimate collapse of the business. Sociological Theory of Marxism In the world we live in today, social classes based on the rich and the poor, the haves and the haves not have been clearly outlined. The social gap keeps widening by day as the rich get richer and the poor surfer in more poverty. More industries and companies keep coming up, yet the gap never closes in. This creates a materialistic society. This paper aims at outlining the Marxism sociology theory. It seeks to draw an understanding of the Marxism theory by exploring the theories relevance to the current social gaps observed in the society. The paper outlines how this theory relates to and individual and to clients. According to Mises (2006), “Everybody is forced––by the material productive forces––to think in such a way that the result shows his class interests.” This is an ideology that was brought up by Marx, the founder of Marxism. He continues to state that a person’s interests do not always reflect the truth. It is completely free from the state of ones ideas. In the society we live in today, this clearly depicts how the social classes are formed. People of various interests form groups that determine whom they are. The groups’ norms are calved out in regard to how they react to certain situations in life. These norms seem to be the absolute truth about everything. In fact they dictate how one should wear, where he should go to hang out and with who, what he should, what he should drive and many more. In the end therefore, the society grows to be more materialistic in order to adhere to the set norms of various social groups. Indeed this drives us to the core part about Marxism. “Marxism emphasizes the idea that social life is based upon "conflicts of interest"” There are those who gain more, as they control other people. That’s why most people often end up frustrated if they don’t match up to certain social groups. The people on top will never bow to the people below. They are always enriching themselves in the big companies that they own, as they use the human skills and capital of their subordinates. As this situation lingers on, the social stratifications move to high class, middle class and the low class. The middle class will always try to match up to the high class. However, they own small companies and various jobs, of which are controlled by the high class group. The low class follows the same order. In the end, everyone will try to match up to a class above, including copying the various societal norms of the class; for example: dressing and lifestyle. Image 1 (Adapted from ASMediaTV, 2009) Every day as one takes breakfast; there is always a reason for going to work. What shall I wear? What shall I say? What means do I use? This picture illustrates the clear state of class struggle within the society. In fact, literary speaking class also determines how one’s coffee is mixed. At the end of the hard day’s work, a person will get the wages. However, the social groups will determine how one spends the money. As the picture below depicts, everyone has a lifestyle to keep so as to fit in to a certain group. For some people they just need food, while others have their own needs, of which they claim to be realistic. Image 2 (Adapted from hiphappy, 2008) Relation with me, as an individual, and client in business However, it is important for individuals to understand how this sociology theory applies to oneself in real life. There are times one will feels unwanted in certain groups due to his social status. Every individual has self-esteem. This should be highly guided and should not be determined by the materialistic approach as shown in this sociology theory. It is also apparent that all clients be well understood in regard to the sociology theory depicted by Marxism. People have different tastes depending on their social class and needs. Therefore, every client should be well catered for and satisfied. Potentials clients should also be baited in regard to their lifestyle which is determined by their class. Various methods of client attraction and retention need to be well strategized depending on the target market. In conclusion, whether high class, middle class or low class, the society needs to understand that there is a need to address the underlying issues. As the gap widens, so does robbery increase. For some thugs they are struggling to get food on their table, while others just driven by the materialist lust. A society that finds itself in this kind of a situation, needs reevaluate its cultural norms and vices, before the low class start a revolution. Sociological Theory of Feminism Feminism Sociological theory focuses on five major areas that is sociology of knowledge that macro-social order, theory of integration and subjectivity. The study of macro-social order expands Marx’s analysis of economic production which includes sexuality, religion and household. Feminist sociologist who study the subjectivity seeks to understand how women tend to think that everything belong to men thus disregarding them as powerless. Feminist Sociologist integrates macro level phenomena as discussed by Dorothy E.Smith, 1926 in “relations of ruling” “generalized” “anonymous impressionable texts” and “local activities of lived experience”. Feminism and its Branches Feminist theory offers a sound framework for organizations working to change women’s inferior social position, political, and economic discrimination that perpetuates it. Long ago around thirty years women’s movement faltered and this was as a result of not realistically accounting for how intersecting categories of oppression(Breines ,2006).Globally now, there are new and ongoing women challenges, so a feminist addressing needs of all women is never in a finalized form. Feminists end sexism by empowering women, but still there is disagreement on how to achieve this. In adopting one gender agenda, the movement has tended to partition into different branches of general philosophy. Feminist branches are neither mutually exclusive nor exhaustive. Individual feminist is generally subscribed in the following branches: Liberal feminism. Liberal feminism is also referred as “egalitarian or mainstream feminism”. No one should be denied equal opportunities just because of gender, since both genders benefit by the elimination of sexism. Liberal feminism mostly believes in rationalist, education, and the natural rights for both men and women. Women can work together within a pluralistic system and mobilize their constituents to effect positive and productive social change. If there is proper mobilization demands will be effective and pressure will be efficient. (Deckard, 1983, p. 463) The Sociology of Gender theoretically appeals to women with no disagreement with the overall structure of social system. Liberal feminists in “cultural feminism” focus on empowering women by insisting on positive qualities that are associated with women’s roles such as nurturing, caring and cooperation to others (Worell, 1996, p. 360). Socialist feminism. This is also referred to as “Marxist feminism”. It links the women inferior position to Class-based capitalism and its alignment with the patriarchal family in capitalistic societies. Socialist feminism insists that sexism and capitalism are mutually supportive to working-class women and those who feel deprived from the presumed economic opportunities in capitalism. Both men and women retain interest in their own gender group (Hartmann, 1993). Radical feminism. Whereas liberal feminists focus on the workplace and legal changes, radical feminists focus on the patriarchal family as the key site of domination and oppression (Shelton and Agger, 1993) Radical feminism occurred when women who were working with men in the civil rights and anti–Vietnam War movements were not allowed to present their positions on the causes they were engaged in. The second wave feminism was in 1960’s, 1970’s and early 1980’s with a wide range of issues. The key elements in these were pay equity, rape, domestic violence, pornography and sexism and reproductive choice. Multicultural and global feminism. Global feminism is movement of people working for change across national boundaries. Multicultural feminism refers on specific cultural elements and historical conditions that serve to maintain women’s oppression (Bunster-Bunalto, 1993).The Sociology of Gender provides efforts to empower women; they do not support the idea of cultural relativism. Ecofeminism. Ecofeminism connects the degradation and oppression of women with the degradation of the ecosystem. Feminist therapy has contributed an awareness of how environmental conditions contribute to the problem of women and men and how gender roles lead to a lack of gender equality (Core, 2009) Ecofeminism is somehow related with global feminism since both branches of feminism deal with the linkages of gender with other relevant social categories. Image 1 (Adapted from http://www.vector.net/2010/sisters-can-do-it-free-vector-art/ ) Symbolic Interaction and Feminist Theory Women are “ruled” by men in various ways in that they are seen as people who can’t be given responsibilities and in order to obtain or being given these responsibilities they need to maintain a sense of personal integrity. The feminist is a way to empower these corporate women by clarifying the relationship between symbolic interaction and how these women are judged by peers and by themselves. Symbolic interaction and feminist theory research focuses on the unequal power relations between men and women which occurs when women see that they are over ruled yet they cannot manage. Image 2 (Adapted from http://www.mensaid.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1340 on 28 April, 2012) Feminist Perspectives on the Family Let’s have a case of single-parent African-American, Latino, and Native American. Women are disadvantaged by race when they seek employment to support their families. When women fight for the custody of their children, lesbians must deal with a system that represses same-sex. As the population of women increase, they become more disadvantage by their race, class, or sexuality, but they are not helpless victims who cannot take charge of the responsibilities of their own families. When it comes with the view of gender, marriage, and the family focusing on oppression of women, the feminist perspective tends to minimize the practical benefits of marriages. Marriage may be patriarchal, but it needs economic resources and social support .Feminist scholars also find it difficult to compile their research that suggests that in traditional marriages, women are satisfied with their choices in the family. Feminist scholarship provides opportunities for men to view themselves as gendered beings and to make visible their concerns (Brad, 2003 and Kimmel, 2008). Challenges Facing Feminism Feminism may be reframed and be alighted favorably in several ways by media. Creating campaign awareness during those feminist goals continues to be illusive. Sexism keeps raising consciousness that obstacles remain for women seeking success, whether in the media or even politically. Hillary Clinton’s and Sarah Palin’s say that feminist will be difficult to dislodge from the vernacular of media. As a public, feminism at work ensures that feminist goals are being embraced. Hillary Clinton lost her presidential bid, but she is now the third female Secretary of State. Each theoretical perspective has its own insight and explanation for any given issue. Issues are further refined when theories are used in combination with one another. In this theory there is a conclusion developed on gender roles which has a meaning to all of us. Sociological Theory of Post modernism There is a common law in physics that shows that everything that is unattended to, tend to go into disorder. This is a well proven fact in real life situations. If things are not managed well, they may end up in utter distraction. So does the norms of a society. Whatever that was viewed as correct yesterday, will today be rendered all wrong or meaningless. This paper is not about right or wrong. It illustrates the post modernism ideology in relation to an individual and a client. It seeks to draw an understanding of some ideologies that the era past modernization, brings into being, as the reasonable theory in various ideologies. Literature Review When people grew tired of the modernistic culture, they started asking various questions. Whatever seemed to be in order in the western cultures started changing to a better order, or disorder? “Whatever time we set for the beginning of postmodernism, it is evident that we are living in a different world from modernism. All around, we see the erosion of truth, morality, commitment, accountability and even realism.” (Shrader, 1998) In the wake of postmodernism, there was a notion that there is no absolute truth to everything. There was a driven need to change history especially in the cultural values of what was spiritual, linguistic or artistic in order to create an aesthetic value. Discussion This era has brought more harm than good. As people struggle to get the aesthetic value, employing the postmodernism ideologies, there is more struggle and dissatisfaction between people. Unity is no longer visible when racism and oppression sets in. Post modernism has also lost touch with art and music. The songs of previous years bore more meaning, and so were the musicians. The aesthetic value has been lost in immorality and other conflicts. As the pictures below depict, the society has created a whole notion about what is acceptable and what cannot be. However what that seems noble, is the unwanted truth that may bring back the ghosts of pre modernism and modernism. This is a clear outline of how far this musician can go in seeking aesthetic value in her life, yet defying the expected character of a person of such regard, while at the same time mocking a Christian ideology about the cross and enlightenment. Images Adapted from (Teusner) An individual must understand one’s norms and morals in order to harness global unity and cohesiveness especially in business. One has to get to an understanding that there are various methods of doing things in this world that do not necessarily reflect his own opinion. He must also get to realize that, whatever he thinks may be the absolute truth can be subject to great debate. This applies to various clients in different business ventures. One needs to appreciate originality in search for aesthetic value. Degrading a societies values, in order to satisfy a client’s or personal needs will eventually lead to disorder. This also determines how a person gets to acquire goods and whether they come from. A client should seek genuine business deals and not hiding behind façades of “the end, justifies the means” In conclusion, post modernization has much more to be desired for. This era seeks to redefine culture, yet destroys it more. The media focuses on the things that appeal more to the human ear as the celebrities and politicians forge towards statements that are said to be politically correct, in order to avoid courting any controversies. Indeed one is left wondering, “Whatever happened to artistic merit, seriousness, authenticity, realism, intellectual depth?” References 1. ASMediaTV (Director). (2009). Homework [Picture]. 2. Corey, G. (2009). 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Shaping the future of feminist psychology: Education, research, and practice. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Read More