Sociology

Sociology can be seen as far back as the ancient Greeks, such as Aristotle and Plato. However it only recently became a discipline of its own at the start of the 19 th century. The times were changing and modernising and sociology became a way to study different cultures and societies. The sociological imagination is the belief that we view the result of social forces on ones personnel and public lives. Sociological imagination is an important part of the sociological perspective. For example, if a person gets divorced this is a private problem but when it starts to have an effect on their children, for example, school work getting worse and teachers having to get involved, this becomes a public problem. [edu.learnsoc.org/chapters/1%20introduction/3%20history%20of%20sociology.htm]

Functionalism is a macro theory this means that it focuses on society as a whole, not the individuals in the society. It is also a consensus theory, a theory based on agreement, in the case of functionalism it is an agreement regarding the rules and norms of the society. Functionalism is an idealist theory, it focuses on the shared values and beliefs and what makes society and holds it together in a moral order. In a functionalist society, if someone is seen not to follow the rules, norms and values of a given society they are seen as dysfunctional. Functionalism uses the organic analogy in which it believes that all parts of society are like organs in a body and if one part of society is not working correctly then the whole body is affected. Family and socialisation are very important to functionalism as they are the main way that the culture of a given society is learned. Functionalists see conflict as being pathological; it is seen as a repercussion of change from an old society to a modern society that has not yet been completed. This perspective focuses on conflict between the individual and society, for example, deviance, suicide and the confusion in the shared beliefs and values. Durkheim had two arguments that have a bearing on stratification; the division of labour in society e.g. between baker and carpenter is not merely efficiently economical, it creates social solidarity and averts conflict by making people dependent upon each other. The second is that class conflict is pathological; it is due to the change from primitive to modern society not running smoothly. Functionalists look at society as a whole and can discuss any area of society. Functionalism is good at revealing the hidden side of social phenomenas, it is also good at explaining the persistence of social phenomena and how society stays stable over time. Functionalism is good at studying the conflicts between the individual and society. However, functionalism finds it hard to discuss conflict between groups in society e.g. Class struggle. It also fails to recognise oppression. It tends to not look into history enough, only comparing modern society to primitive societies. Functionalism does not cope well with change in society, acknowledges change but fails to explain why. Functionalism has a limited view of materialistic issues. Durkheims divisions of labour is
Siobhan Kennedy

not hierarchical, if fails to say whether inequality can be functional for society. [Miller,J:2005:209]

Marxism is also a macro theory; it concentrates on society as a whole, not the individual. Marx believed that the structure of society will determine what the individual does, feels and thinks. Marxism is also a conflict theory, he believes the conflict is between the classes. Materialism is a key features in Marxism, it focuses on the material conditions of life and believed that man must make the things he lives by. Class struggle is a key point for Marx, he believes that in modern society it its the bourgeoisie- the rich/upper class against the proletariat- poor/working class. Marx believed that the proletariat would come to realise they were being exploited by the bourgeoisie and there would be a revolution because of this. This theory believes that class and the state are in place to enforce class rule. Class and economy are also known as Base and the state is known as Superstructure. Marx believed that Base determines Superstructure, change starts in the economy and the rest of society just follows. Marx believed that the loss of ideology under capitalist rule could lead to a possible class revolution. Marx view on stratification is that we take things from nature and through labour turn them into things we can use. Production and means of production such as fields, livestock, workshops etc, are used in society, not on our own so we have social relations of production. The social relations of these are; appropriationtaking something for your own, and expropriation- taking something away from someone else. From this we can take two classes, one uses means of production and expropriates from the other. Their labour is exploited by the owning class. Marxism sees society as a whole and can discuss a wide range of themes. It strongly incorporates the theory of conflict and also has a good explanation of how society remains stable through change. Also looks at history and is not limited to modern society. However, Marxism tries to put all struggles, such as race and religion into the class struggle, in some cases this may be justified but not in all cases. Marxism is also reluctant to discuss themes that do not fit well with the class struggle and Marxism also makes it difficult for feminist theories and makes it hard for them to discuss their key issues. [http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/marxism.html]

Siobhan Kennedy

Social Action is a micro theory; it focuses on the individual, small scale face to face interactions. This is an action theory it tends to focus on the hidden meanings that members of society attach to their situations, focuses on their own actions and those of others. Also tends to believe that wider society is consensus not conflict, Social action takes a gentler approach to functionalist concepts, such as socialization and role. Social Action believes that the individual chooses their role to act their part in society. Social Actionists detailed accounts of how actors develop opinions of themselves and others. An important feature of Social Action is the importance of language and symbolic thought, they believe that this is what separates humans from animals and is responsible for all behaviour. Weber sees two types of stratification; status and class. Class is outlined by a connection to the economy, specifically the market. It is the question of how far labour can be traded on the market for the things you want or need. Status is different; its basis is on prestige. This could be a priest or a lord, or at the opposite end it could be a slave. Weber believed that where status relates to the economy is in consumption and the need to maintain a certain lifestyle. Status can also be related to class, e.g. middle class has a higher status than working class. Social Action expresses the importance of the meaning and motives attached to behaviour and the way others view this behaviour. It takes a gentler approach to functionalist concepts such as socialization and role, without harming the functionalist theory that looks at wider society. Social Action is good at explaining the small scale interactions and also good at explaining stereotyping. However, Social Action overlooks wider society in its focus of small scale interactions. Social Action assumes that wider society is a consensus and overlooks conflict in wider society completely. It focuses on language as defining the human but leaves out the body, which is not good for themes such as gender. [http://www.sociologyguide.com/socialaction/max-weber.php][ http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/s30f99.htm]

In conclusion, the relationship between the state and the individual is complex, as it has changed over time, throughout history. As Durkheim believed that all parts of society have a function or part to play in order for the society to work well. When a part of society stops functioning e.g. there are too many strikes in industry or there is a high crime rate then the society comes under strain and if the situation is not fixed then this could lead the society to collapse. So therefore, Durkheim believed that in order for society to work the individual and the state must work together to make this possible.

Siobhan Kennedy

Bibliography
Books
Miller, J: 2005: Care Practice for S/NVQ 3: Hodder Arnold: London

Websites
edu.learnsoc.org/chapters/1%20introduction/3%20history%20of%20sociology.htm : 9/11/2011 http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/s30f99.htm : 9/11/2011 http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/marxism.html : 09/11/2011 http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-action/max-weber.php : 09/11/2011

Siobhan Kennedy