Examples Of Functionalism In Sociology

Sociology is founded on three basic perspectives which include the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and interactionist perspective. The functionalist perspective was founded by Emile Durkheim, a French philosopher and sociologist, in the early 1920s. It views society as a system in which institutions, all different, but related, serve a particular purpose. The overall goal of these institutions is to maintain functional order within our society. For example, state governments provide education to children, which children’s families in turn pay taxes for and the state depends on those funds to keep itself going. These children then grow up and become law-abiding citizens who pay taxes and continue the same cycle. A way to better

These social problems are usually socially constructed, due to culturally defined values and beliefs, as well as policies. Change in societies and adapting to new conditions or failing to successfully adapt to change causes social problems as well. It is also important to note that although not all social problems affect every individual, it must affect a great majority of people for it to be considered a social problem. A good example of this is crime. Crime affects everyone on some level. It affects the victim of the crime, the person who committed the crime, as well as the society in which the crime is committed. Through the functionalist perspective, crime is seen as being ‘normal’ and also, an integral part of all healthy societies. While too much crime constitutes a threat to social order, too little crime or deviance is unhealthy (Weineck, 2007). It is in the way that society responds to crime that contributes to the health and growth of a society, by establishing laws and policies that provide a foundation for society’s values. An example that Emile Durkheim gives in relation to a crime which reaps benefits in a society is protest. Protest involves a small or large group of people standing to raise awareness on an issue that is found to be discriminatory or unfair. For example, take the protests that occurred to raise awareness and bring on laws to allow gay marriages. States throughout America have held protests sometimes ending up in violent behavior. The violent behavior and that was partaken during these protests, symbolically, made people aware of how important this issue was to a great number of people. It is in these events that issues such as gay marriage have brought on change in policies and revolutionized society’s way of