Hong Kong is an island off the coast of mainland China. It was a British colony until 1997 when it was officially handed back to China. Even though Hong Kong has its own constitution and currency, China still controls its defense and foreign policy. Hong Kong 's constitution, the Basic Law, states that Hong Kong will co-exist with China as "one country, two systems" for 50 years after the handover of power in 1997. Due to expire in 2047, it states that the city "shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents." One of the tenets contained in the Basic Law was the right to develop its own democracy. However, Beijing keeps reinterpreting this document and recently released a White Paper reaffirming its “complete jurisdiction” over …show more content…
For example, Marxists will view the relation between a factory worker and the owner as a struggle of class where the worker is exploited and the owner makes profit off them. On the other hand, a Functionalist would approach this differently. They will argue that they each serve their own function in the society. The owner owns the means of production and therefore has more risks and he is also keeping the worker employed by giving him a job. In this case they both have a role to play and therefore has to coexist in the society maintaining its stability. One of the main theorists that we will focus on is Emile Durkheim, often considered as the founder of modern sociology. Durkheim was a positivist and therefore believed that society should be studied through empirical methods. Durkheim was influenced by another theorist Auguste Comte. He was the one who introduced the concept of positivism and believed that change can occur without revolution and disorder. Durkheim viewed society as a system that could only exist over time if certain conditions of stability and continuity were met (Garner, pg. 73). Another theorist we will focus on is Max Weber, who is one of the greatest influences on sociology together with Marx and Durkheim. Weber focuses on individual action rather than the structure. His central idea is that action is becoming increasingly formally rational over the
The second sociological perspective is functionalism and it just like conflict has a macro view on issues. When thinking about functionalism break the word up and it will help to give you a clear definition. Each part of the problem with function individually and then they will work together to cooperate. Functionalism like conflict has three questions that need to be answered. “ What parts of society are involved? What functions do the parts play? How are they related to one another/ or how do they impact one another” (Halperin, 2/13/15). If these questions can't be answered then it doesn't fall under the perspective of functionalism.
smugglers, was occupied by the British Empire during the first opium war against the Chinese
way a human does. This is of course not the case, as it is the
In addition too, Symbolic Interactionism perspectives, there is Functionalism Perspective. The idea of the Functionalist perspective leads back to Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist whose writings form the core of the functionalist theory (McClelland, 2000). Functionalism is what happens when social structures have positive effects on the constancy of society. It is the frame work for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote harmony and stability. There are also three assumptions behind functionalism theory, Stability, Harmony, and Evolutions. Those who use social structure theory focus on studying the nature and the consequences of social structures. It also focuses on a relatively state pattern of social behavior. This gives our lives shape in
Although quite different, both Functionalism and Marxism have their similarities. They also have their positive and negative aspects and ways in which each theory dysfunctions. Functionalism is the study of society as a functioning system including interdependent institutions or patterned relations that are steady overtime, and that enact specialized functions for the whole. The main focus is on how direction is kept between parts of society. Any given pattern of relations or structures within society is interpreted by reference to the results or functions that such patterns have for them majority. It is an essential assumption within the functionalist perspective is that participation in social systems is voluntary. When a sociologist uses
This perspective originated with Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist, social psychologist, and philosopher, and the one who formally established and is considered the father of sociology, as the social sciences was not considered an independent field of study separate from philosophy at the time of his writings. Durkheim was interested in how social order and society as a whole remains stable, and used a scientific approach to study society. As Kenneth Allan quotes from Émile Durkheim (2005), “…if, in addition, society lacks the unity based upon the commitment of men’s wills to a common objective, then it is no more than a pile of sand that the least jolt or the slightest puff will suffice to scatter” (p. 136). Using this view of society as a creation of a collective group of individuals that work toward a common objective, functionalism looks at the institutions of society and how they contribute to the society’s stability. These institutions include the government, family, education, medicine, the justice system, the military, mass media, and other similar formal organizations. Each of these institutions are organized to fulfill the different needs of society and are all interdependent. Functionalism focuses on the order and social stability of a society, and credits disorganization and a lack of adaptation to new and changing times as the causes of social
This essay will compare and contrast and contrast two leading sociological theories: Marxism and Functionalism. Marxists predominantly believe that within society inequality and prejudice are rife, whereas Functionalists live under the impression that society operates in a state of social equilibrium wherein class and social status are necessities which we allow to transpire. This essay will explore the different viewpoints each theories take on subjects such as religion, community, family and education.
Functionalism is the most particularly "sociological" of the hypothetical points of view. Emile Durkheim created it around 1900. Durkheim contended that social issues don 't should be clarified on a case-by-case premise. There are examples to social conduct that vary at certain times, amongst societies, and crosswise over gatherings. Durkheim tried to clarify social issues as far as social foundations. At the point when the social organizations that give soundness and intending to individuals (particularly family and religion) have a powerless hold in a given society, individuals get to be confounded, frail, and scattered. Fundamentally, Durkheim contended that when working appropriately, social organizations keep individuals glad, very much carried on, and agreeable. The fundamental suspicion is that social organizations keep society in a condition of equalization and that any makeshift social issues might be characteristic of impermanent dysfunctions that will be overcome, returning society to its amicable nature.
In this essay I am going to compare and contrast Functionalism and Marxism. They are both sociological perspectives which have theories about society and the people that live within it. They attempt to explain how society influences people, and similarly how people influence society. However, the two perspectives are clearly different.
One sociological perspective is the Functionalist theory. Functionalism is one of the earliest sociological theories. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a professor and was interested in how society was possible and how society remains stable. This theory focuses on the macro-level of social structure rather than micro-level of everyday life. Functionalism sees society in parts which form a system, the parts depend on each other. Functionalist theory looks at the parts of society such as
Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.
The Functionalist Perspective in sociology states that everyone in the society holds a position and in this position their status has a set of roles or certain behaviors that are required to perform the tasks at hand (Kornblum and Julian, 2004.) The roles consist of nurses at the medical institutions, lawyer's at international firms or just a blue collar worker at any type of factory. For the most part, each status' role is involved in an institution of some kind and is needed for the economy and society to function as a whole. "The Functionalist Perspective looks at the way major social instructions like the family, military, the health-care system, and the police and courts actually operate (Kornblum and Julian, 2004, 6.)" This basically means that for these institutions that are needed to fulfill these roles and duties for the economy, the roles and behaviors of employees need to evolve as a whole so that the institution can function (Kornblum and Julian, 2004.) For example, a nurse needs to know certain things about her job like what medicine can treat a certain
Functionalism is a consensus perspective that sees society as based on shared values into which members are socialized. It sees society as like an organism, each part performing functions to maintain the system as a whole. For example, religion, the education system and the family perform socialization functions. The functionalist theory though developed from the ideas of theorists such as Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim, can trace its origins as far back as the founding father of sociology, Auguste
Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed.
Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.