Functionalism

It was prominent in the work of Auguste Comte and Herbert spencer and known as
the father of the discipline
Society as System
 It view the society as a system which means that it is interconnected to each
other to form a whole sum
 The relation to each other parts should be contributing to each other in the
same level. Example –education family and educational institution
 For any explanation of how order and stability are maintained functionalism
mainly focuses on the how they are organized.
 There should be survival in the society for the proper function of the society
for that reproduction in family is necessary.
 With all the necessary terms all the people in the society must be satisfied
through the function and the working of the society.
- If the society doesn’t work as per the requisites it tends to have a negative
evaluation as the dysfunction.

Talcott Parsons
 Talcott parson is an American sociologist who refined Functionalism.
 Example of Family being dependent upon educational institution for their
children to socialize
 Function of any part of social system is understood by the contribution.
 Social Order. Much like Durkheim, Parsons was concerned with the problem
of social order, "how, if individuals were really separate entities pursuing their
self-interest, there could be any order at all: How could there be anything but
disorder
 In practice, people do cooperate, and there is a degree of social integration. For
Parsons this comes from the values of society and of social actors – the basis of
social action can be termed voluntarism. "People act on the basis of their
values; their actions are oriented and constrained by the values and norms of
people around them; and these norms and values are the basis of social order"
Functional Pre requisite
 The basic needs or necessary conditions of existence of society is called ,
…….
 In sociological research, functional prerequisites are the basic needs (food,
shelter, clothing, and money) that an individual requires to live above the
poverty line. Functional prerequisites may also refer to the factors that allow
a society to maintain social order.
 Reproduction is also the functionalist pre requisite to ensure that member of
society do not extinct.

Parsons four functional pre requisite examples in Politics

- Adaptation
Interms to achive the goals the workforce in the society must cooperate
together in terms to adopt example different office give to high
beouracratics

- Integration
People must have a sence of belonging towards the society and must be
motivated example in any sort of government or state affairs all the
beurocrats must be motivated and have the motivation to contribute in the
society

- Latency
Conflict in the institution must be avoided. Rules laws must be created to
minimize it example the constitution in the country
Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social
standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into
rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race,
education, and power.

You may remember the word “stratification” from geology class. The distinct
vertical layers found in rock, called stratification, are a good way to visualize
social structure. Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are
distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources
represent the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of
people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers of
our society.

You may remember the word “stratification” from science class. The distinct
vertical layers found in rock, called stratification, are a good way to visualize
social structure. Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are
distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources
represent the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of
people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers of
our society.
Factors that define stratification vary in different societies. In most societies,
stratification is an economic system, based on wealth, the net value of money and
assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages or investment dividends. While
people are regularly categorized based on how rich or poor they are, other
important factors influence social standing. For example, in some cultures, wisdom
and charisma are valued, and people who have them are revered more than those
who don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are
disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural beliefs often reinforce the inequalities
of stratification.
Conclusion
Societies and the different institution can only function if people feel they are the
part of the community. This system is still relaiable in the current generation
because it is t time that has changed the society but still all the social institution
still relay on each other having interconnections to each other.