Functionalist Perspective

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According to the text book “Social Problems: Community, Policy, and Social Action”, “A social problem is a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world.” (Leon, 2012, p. 8). A way to help understand and solve these problems is by taking a look at them from different perspectives, one of those perspectives is known as the functionalist perspective. “The functionalist perspective, as its name suggests, examines the functions or consequences of the structure of society” (Leon, 2012, p. 13). The functionalist perspective is just one of several other viewpoints. The functionalist perspective differs from other perspectives because of its belief in social structures, while the feminist and conflict perspective hold true to their belief in conflict, and the interactionist perspective believes in interaction within society. With that being said, if there was any type of good order and discipline, such as laws to keep people on the straight path, society would break down from the viewpoint of the functionalist. Where as in that same scenario, feminist and conflict perspectives would say society would grow stronger due to conflict. From the interactionist perspective without laws people would have to depend on one another more for different resources causing more interaction within society. All of these perspectives take a different look at society as a whole and they also look at problems within society completely different which means their answers to resolve one issue differ tremendously. What could be consider a problem into society to one perspective may not be as important as another problem to a different perspective, like homelessness. Home... ... middle of paper ... ...have no job, meaning they would have to find another available job. If that worker was unable to find a job and support themselves inevitably they would be in poverty and suffer homelessness as well. Homelessness is definitely a problem within society, but it is also not the only problem.. Throughout the world society faces multiple issues ranging from: sickness, hunger, economic breakdowns, war, inequality, etc. All these issues have a different level of importance to not only those affected by it but by those who govern in those areas. As long as mankind inhabits this planet these issues will exists in one form or another. Society as a whole can help decrease the amount of these issues but it all depends on how society goes about it. Works Cited Leon-Guerro, A. (2012). Social Problems: Community, Policy, and Social Action (3rd ed) Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

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