Comparing And Contrasting Two Of The Major Theoretical Perspectives

Comparing and contrasting two of the major theoretical perspectives Name: Institutional Affiliation: There are three different ways in which sociologists see the world, making the three major theoretical perspectives: functionalism; which is the view where sociologists see the society as a family and all members of the family have different functions to make it complete, interactionism; where sociologists see human beings shaping society through interactions, and conflict theory; where sociologists see human beings living in a world where they are constantly competing for scarce resources and how the rich control the weak and the poor. This essay compares and contrasts the functionalist and conflict perspectives. Similarities of the functionalist and conflict theories The functionalism and conflict theories seem very different, but they however have a few similarities. Unlike interactionists, both functionalist and conflict perspectives look at the overall structure of the community rather than individual views (Daloz, 2009). The functionalists focus on how the society works together to grow and develop, and the conflict perspective sees how the society as a whole has divided itself in classes and how these classes have an impact on the society as a whole. Both functionalism and conflict theories agree on the existence of social structures in a society. (Hallinan, 2006). They also stress the importance of socialization process so as to promote solidarity. Functionalism ideas are originally borrowed from biology. Society is seen as a human body, where each part of the body has its unique function and need each other to work as whole. The conflict perspectives stresses on society existing in classes; upper and lower classes, where the rich control the poor. Differences between the functionalist and conflict theories Although they both focus on the society as a whole, they have different opinions on how they view the members of the society. An example is their conflicting view of the family and its importance in a society. The functionalists focus on the importance of each member and his contribution on society. The conflict theorists on the other hand, suggest the...