socoilogical perspectives

Sociological perspectives.
There are seven sociological perspectives which all hold a variety of opinions and views of society and how it works, in these paragraphs I am going to explain what they mean.
Functionalism-
Functionalism is a sociological approach that’s sees the institutions of society as working in harmony with each other, making specific and clear contributions to the smooth running of society. Functionalism links society to the human body because they work together and use methods of social control. It interprets how each part of society contributes to its stability; the different institutions fill different needs and contribute to how society is shaped. Functionalism focuses on social stability and shared public values. They believe that society is held together by social consensus which everyone in society agrees with and works together to achieve what is best for society as a whole. They believe the systems all depend on different things for example: Judicial systems help maintain order and schools teach children, Problems in a single part of society can disrupt the whole of society. Functionalist believes that believe to ensure the continuity of society and by reproducing and socialising new members. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) is a vital part of functionalism; he saw society as a system made up of interrelated institutions. The main role of the institutions was to socialise individuals so they understood the underlying values of their society. He believes that the family have two basic functions, primary socialisation for children and stabilisation of adult personalities providing emotional security and warmth. Another theorist George Murdock (1897-1979) he examined over 250 societies finding families in all of them, he claimed family was ‘universal’. He believed that we are programmed to behave in a particular way, and there is no clear explanation of deviant behaviour. His four functions that he believed family should provide are; Reproduction, primary socialisation, emotional support, economic provision, these all provide essential and different things including; next generation, basic behaviour, emotional well-being, financial support, food, and shelter.
Marxism-
Marxism was first developed by Karl Marx (1818-1883), he thought that behaviour was shaped by society he held the view that in the industrial society of his time there were two social classes- The Bourgeoisie (capitalists) which were a small powerful group that own the places of employment and want profit from the workers. Then there were the Proletariat (workers) which is a larger group than the capitalists they are the poorer group of workers that are employed by the capitalists.
There is always conflict within the two groups because the capitalists want the profit but the workers want higher paid wages. Marxists argue that the capitalists control everything from media, curriculum in schools, which shape the institutions of society. Throughout the socialisation system attitudes and values are passed on, which will then encourage the ruling class. They also believe they have false consciousness which is the lack of awareness from the workers that they are being exploited without them realising. Marx believed that the two social class groups would always be in conflict which is why Marxism is often referred to as the ‘conflict model’.
Feminism-
Feminism is seen as a type of conflict within the theories, there are three main types of feminism; Marxist Feminism, Radical Feminism, and Liberal Feminism. Feminists argue that dominance has produced biased descriptions and not paid enough attention to the issues of their unequal place in society. Marxist Feminists see women especially working class women as being underneath and pushed down by the higher archery (men). Women produce the next generation of workers; the women are dominated by looking after the children and their husband to make the capitalists money. Radical Feminists believe that it’s not capitalism that dominates women, its men. Family is seen as a patriarchal institution, the family life gives the oppression of housewives and mothers. They believe that men and women should live separately. Liberal Feminists hold a more positive look on society, they argue that changes have taken place and there is now more equality. They also believe that more improvements will continue to take place by legislation and policy. Therefore it is the view that men have the control over women and their lifestyle choices and how they are treated within society. Interactionism-
Interactionism or the ‘social action approach’ focuses on small groups and how they influence behaviour and shape society. They study diverse groups like; gangs, staff, and patients etc. This studies the dynamics within these groups. Sometimes they ask things like; how do members of the group see themselves? Do some people have more power or authority than others? Who are the formal leaders of the group? This helps them see where people place themselves in the group and in society. Social action do not believe that we are programmed by the socialisation process, but having the power to choose how they behave, and build our own opinions. The theories have little interest in the social structure and say that our behaviours are driven by how we react and interpret different situations. In the family the mother may understand what is expected but it is not clearly defined. The mother interprets what it means to her, to her family. There is no blueprint.
Collectivism -
This theory started with Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1979, they thought the government should have a small role in the welfare provision. They believe that it is the individual and their family’s role to take care of them. They do not agree with people on benefits, the government think that it is not there role to look after them. However collectivism work with the government to provide care for the vulnerable funded through taxes and national insurance. In all societies there are people who are vulnerable and the government and state are responsible for them. Collectivism emphasises interdependence of every person in society. There are five different evils within the works of society they include; want, by people feeling they want or need something can develop into poverty this is because you waste money on preferences rather than the basic necessities. Squalor is another evil as this is things like poor housing and living requirements this can be affected because people may not be able to live in areas due to lack of money this can also effect the living conditions. Disease is a major evil within society as people may not be able to afford health care or be entitled to certain health care that they may need, this can continue on to make the individual’s health poor or dangerous. Idleness and laziness within society increases unemployment and encourages people to be on benefits even if they are physically able to work, this can then cause conflict within society due to tax payers feeling like they are paying for other people to live. The last giant evil is ignorance, this can help form inadequate education.
New rights-
The new rights theory was based on the traditional nuclear family in the 1980s they believe that the nuclear family is best for society; they think this because they will be brought up with stability. New Right theorists are concerned about giving welfare benefits to single mothers. They also think that it's a bad idea to have children brought up in families where adults aren't working and in lone parent families because they aren’t given the support by both parents or have the stability of a family. They believe that it may cause ‘Moral panic’ and fear of breakdown in social fabric due to lone parent families. New Right sociologists believe that the increase in lone parents and reconstituted families hold easier access to divorce and have led to a breakdown in traditional values. They say that this causes social problems such as crime increase. New rights theorists believe that welfare benefits are too high and create a 'culture of dependency' where an individual finds it easier and acceptable to take benefits rather than work, also creating 'underclass' which is the idea of people who live or benefits and do not work.
Postmodernism-
This theory is about understanding society which focuses on the rapid change and uncertainty in our society. Postmodernists suggest that we can no longer talk about established institutions like the family, religion or economy because nothing stays the same. They say that domestic arrangements are so varied nowadays that it is no longer possible to talk about the ‘typical family’. They hold the view that because of constant changes within society structuralisms’ perspectives like functionalism and Marxism no longer help us to understand society. Social institutions have become fragmented; individuals and groups of people now make their own lifestyle decisions. Postmodernism is generally used to describe the economic, cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist after modernity, some schools hold the thought that modernity ended in the late 20th century. It is often associated with deconstruction and post-structuralism because its usage as a term gained significant popularity at the same time as twentieth-century post-structural thought.