The Functionalism Theory Of Chinese Military Culture

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Subcultures are a significant part of society. Each subculture has its own set of distinctive values and norms. This is especially true of military culture because its uniqueness of values is more obvious. With the popularity of military culture, it greatly promotes patriotic education, and also brings some new elements to cultural diversity. This essay will provide some personal experiences about military culture. Then, it will also use the concept of sociology to analyse military culture. Finally, it will explain Chinese military culture by functionalism theory.
In China, the government has mandated that patriotic education is an important part of primary and secondary school education. To respond positively to the call of the government, …show more content…

In Chinese military culture, the values are: “loyal to the motherland, loyal to the people, advocating honour, not afraid to sacrifice”. Throughout Chinese military cultural values, the “loyal” appears twice, which means it is the most important element of the military cultural values. Loyalty is the foundation of military culture; it is a belief and the highest honour of an armyman. In terms of mores, the main idea is to promote the Civil-Military unity. Therefore, the military culture requires the students to love the people, and be concerned about city development. Chinese military culture also encourages the students enthusiastically to join the community service, such as help the lonely old people, and so …show more content…

“Functionalism … holds that social phenomena persist if they contribute to social stability.” (Brym and Lie 2012:5). Military culture has a crucial role in promoting social stability and harmony. First of all, the military culture value is one of valuable social assets. In daily life, “loyalty” is not specific to loyal any certain organization. “Loyalty” is a broad concept. It can be generally understood as integrity, because the integrity means to be loyal to the promise. Thus, from this perspective, this value is helpful for improving the social integrity and the sense of social security.
Secondly, military subculture improved military transparency to society. It also increased the understanding of the army on society and overcome the strangeness of the army. Through military training, this subculture increased opportunities for people in contact with the military, it effectively narrows the distance between army and society. Military subculture is not only promoted the social cohesion, but also attracted a large number of outstanding talents to join the army. This subculture provided stronger power for military

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