Dominant Approaches and Ideas I:

Structural-Functionalism and
Marxism
Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
Objectives
1. Determine manifest and latent functions and
dysfunctions of sociocultural phenomena
2. Analyze social inequalities in terms of class
conflict
Introduction
• The social sciences are not only composed of
disciplines that showcase how it views and
studies every facet of society.
• But the social sciences also have theoretical
foundations and ideological thrusts. That is why
apart from the disciplines, the social sciences
have what we call the dominant approaches and
ideas that are present within the different
disciplines.
Structural-Functionalism
Dominant Approaches and Ideas I
The Development and Origin
• Sociology before structural-functionalism found refuge
in the great writings of the classical figures or the
founding fathers of sociology.
• Hanz Joas and Wolfgang Knöbl mention that if we were
to look at the string of these names, at the end we
would come across another important figure in the
discipline: Talcott Parsons, who is famous for his
sociological works and most importantly, regarded as
the proponent of structural-functionalism.
Talcott Parsons
• Talcott Parsons
• Born in Colorado Springs, CO on 13 December
1902
• Obtained PhD in Sociology and Economics at
the University of Heidelburg in 1927
• His doctoral dissertation was entitled The
Concept of Capitalism in the Recent German
Literature
• Given rank of Full Professor and Chairmanship
by Harvard University in 1944
• Published two major works: The Social System
and Toward a General Theory of Action in 1951
• Died of a stroke on 8 May 1979 in Munich
The Theory
• Structuralism is a method for analyzing language,
narratives, and cultural phenomena that uncovers basic
elements that form structures (often binary oppositions).
Simply put, structuralism is understanding human culture
and elements in terms of their relationship with a larger,
overarching system.
• Functionalism, on the other hand, can also be regarded
as Structural-Functionalism itself. It is defined as an
approach that sees society as a complex system whose
parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
The Theory
• This is where Parsons becomes relevant, for his thought
amplifies the need for social action. He held that "the
social system is made up of the actions of individuals."
(Parsons & Shills, 1976)
• Parsons determined that each individual has
expectations of the other's action and reaction to his
own behavior, and that these expectations would (if
successful) be "derived" from the accepted norms and
values of the society they inhabit. (Parsons, 1961)
Structural-Functionalism Today
• Although the over-all message of structural-
functionalism is coherent and has proven to be very
helpful to the advancement of sociology‟s research, it is
considered today as an outdated theory, sociologists
mostly preferring newer sociological models. However,
there has been a recent trend in reviving structural-
functionalism, specifically in the works of Jeffrey
Alexander.
 Marxism
Dominant Approaches and Ideas I
The Development and Origin
• Capitalism
• Capitalism is defined as an economic and
political system in which a country's trade
and industry are controlled by private
owners for profit, rather than by the state.
• According to Fulcher, “Capitalist production
depends on the exploitation of wage labour,
which also fuels the consumption of the
goods and services produced by capitalist
enterprises. Production and consumption
are linked by the markets that come to
mediate all economic activities.” (Fulcher,
2004)
Adam Smith
The Development and Origin
• Capitalism
• This exploitation of wage labor led to
the creation of two „classes‟:
o the workers
o the ruling class.
• The growth of capitalism and the „war of
classes‟ in Europe became so
dominant, that it led to the thoughts of
an important historical figure that would
pave the way for the rise of the Marxist
ideology: Karl Marx.
Adam Smith
 Key Thinker: Karl Marx
• Karl Marx
• Born in Prussia on 5 May 1818
• Finished his doctoral dissertation entitled:
The Difference Between the Democritean
and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature in
1841.
• Met with Friedrich Engels in 1845
• Published The Communist Manifesto with
Engels as co-author in 1848
• Published the first volume of Das Kapital
in 1857
• Died on 17 March 1883
The Theory
• Marxism is first and foremost a response to the despotic
rule of capitalism. From the discussion earlier, we have
discovered that capitalism led to the division of classes
among society. Class or social class is one‟s stature in
society, normally based on economic capabilities.
• The Social Classes:
1. The proletariat or the working class
2. The bourgeoisie or the ruling class (the ones who own the
means of production)
The Theory
• According to Peter Singer, Marx had developed two
crucial insights from his negative stance against
capitalism:
(1) economics is the chief form of alienation and
(2) the working class or the proletariat is the
solution to the liberation of society from economics or
capitalist domination. (Singer, 2000)
The Theory
• Singer speaks of Marx on Alienation:
On this view, labor in the sense of free productive activity is the essence
of human life. Whatever is produced in this way – a statue, a house, or a
piece of cloth – is therefore the essence of human life made into a
physical object. Marx calls this „the objectification of man‟s species-life‟.
Ideally the objects workers have freely created would be theirs to keep or
dispose of as they wish. When, under conditions of alienated labor,
workers must produce objects over which they have no control (because
the objects belong to the employers) and which are used against those
who produced them (by increasing the wealth and power of the
employers) the workers are alienated from their essential humanity.
(Singer, 2000)
 The Theory
• Therefore, there are four forms of alienation:
Alienation of Worker from Products

Alienation of Worker from Labor Process

Alienation of Worker from Human Nature

Alienation of Worker from Other Workers

The Theory
• As Marx says in his Preface to A Contribution to the
Critique of Political Economy, “The mode of production
of material life conditions the social, political and
intellectual life process in general. It is not the
consciousness of men that determines their being, but,
on the contrary, their social being that determines their
consciousness.” (Marx, 1859)
• What then, is Marx‟s solution to the rule of capitalism?
Communism as the Solution
• The solution is the abolition of wages, alienated labor,
and private property in one blow. In a word, communism.
• Communism, thus, destroys the alienation brought about
by capitalism, and makes man social once more. Private
property is replaced with common ownership, and man
becomes friend once more to fellow man.
• “The community is only a community of labor, and
equality of wages paid out by communal capital – by the
community as the universal capitalist.” (Marx, 1844)
The Theory
• Thus, we can summarize Marxism in the following
points:
1. Capitalism brings a class conflict between the working
class and the bourgeoisie (those who own means of
production).
2. Capitalism focuses on mass production and less
possession by the laborers. Thus, the worker is in a state
of alienation.
3. Communism is the key to transcending private property,
and the different problems that capitalism brings into
society.
Marxism Today
• The most concrete descendants of Marxism in today‟s world are
the communist states. Today, the following countries adhere to
a communist form of government: China, Cuba, Laos, North
Korea, and Vietnam. Contrary to popular views, the Russian
Federation or Russia is not currently a communist country, but
is a federal republic. In countries with different forms of
government, communism still exists in the form of political
parties. In the Philippines, Marxism is followed by the
Communist Party of the Philippines. They do not have any
seats in Congress at present.
Glossary
• Capitalism –an economic and political system in which a
country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for
profit, rather than by the state.
• Class – is one‟s stature in society, normally based on economic
capabilities. These two classes are (1) the working class, or
what Marx calls the proletariat, and (2) the bourgeoisie or the
ones who own the modes of production in society or, in other
words, the investors of profit.
• Communism – a way of organizing a society in which the
government owns the things that are used to make and
transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) and
there is no privately owned property. (Merriam-Webster
Definition)
Glossary

• Structuralism – a method for analyzing language, narratives,

and cultural phenomena that uncovers basic elements that form
structures (often binary oppositions).
• Structural-Functionalism – an approach that sees society as a
complex system whose parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability. It looks for a structure‟s social function.
References
Curtis, M. (1997) Marxism: The Inner Dialogues. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Dillon, M., (2013) Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their
Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. Wiley.
Marx, K., (1976) Preface and Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Political
Economy. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
Marx, K., (1844) Private Property and Communism.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/comm.htm. Accessed 18
September 2016.
Parsons, T., & Shils, A., (eds) (1976) Toward a General Theory of Action. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
Parsons, T., (1961) Theories of Society: Foundations of Modern Sociological Theory. New
York: Free Press.
Singer, P., (2000) Marx: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wheen, F., (2001) Karl Marx: A Life. London: Fourth Estate.