Understanding Society

Understanding Society

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Sociology can be defined as the study of social life, change as well as causes of the
behaviors of humans. The role of sociologists is to investigate the structure of different groups as
well as society. In sociology, functionalism can be defined as a theory that is based on the
assumption that all aspects of the society serve an important purpose and all of them are
necessary for the survival of the society in the long-term (Baimanov, Cai and Chen, 2019). On
the other hand, the conflict theories of sociology state that the society is in a state of perpetual
conflict as there is competition for the resources that are limited. The essay includes comparison
of two of the perspectives, i.e., functionalism and conflict theory and how do they view the
relationship between individuals as well as the society.
MAIN BODY
Functionalism is a theoretical perspective which states that all aspects of the society serve
a function that is necessary for the overall survival of the society. In simple words, the
functionalist perspective views the society as a complex system that work collectively in order to
promote stability. The functionalist perspective is based on the idea that the society requires
shared norms as well as values in order to function in an effective manner. Functionalists believe
that a successful society has a structure that is stable. On the other hand, conflict theory is
another important theory in sociology which looks at the society competing for limited resources.
Conflict theories mainly stem from Marxist thinking. And it states that the individuals within a
society are in competition with one another. This is mainly for financial gains or any kind of
social reward which results in obtaining power or wealth. While the functionalism perspective is
emphasized on stability, the conflict theory is focused on change (Bessant, 2018). As per the
conflict perspective, the society is constantly in conflict over resources and that conflict mainly
drives change within the society. Durkheim, who proposed the functionalism perspective,
observed that in the modern societies, traditional family bons are weaker and the society also
display a complex division of labor.
The functionalist perspective continues to try to explain how societies maintained the
stability and internal cohesion important to make certain their continued lifestyles through the
years. In the functionalist angle, societies are notion to feature like organisms, with various