structural functional conflict and symbolic interaction theories

Members of the bourgeoisie own the means of production and exploit the class of laborers, called the proletariat, who do not own the means of production. The class of capitalists that Marx called the bourgeoisie particularly enraged him. Marx claimed that social conflict, especially class conflict, and competition mark all societies. The German political philosopher and economist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who observed society’s exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful. Family, education, government, industry, and religion comprise just a few of the parts of the “organism” of society (Ritzer, 1991). If one part of society malfunctions, the other parts must adjust to the crisis and contribute even more to preserve society. Change in one part of society causes change in the other parts, so that every part contributes to the stability and survival of society as a whole. The 19th‐century Englishman Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) compared society to a living organism with interdependent parts. He also envisioned sociologists as eventually developing a base of scientific social knowledge that would guide society into positive directions (Maccionis, 1947). Comte viewed the science of sociology as consisting of two branches: dynamics, or the study of the processes by which societies change and statics, or the study of the processes by which societies endure. He believed that all societies develop and progress through the following stages: religious, metaphysical, and scientific.Ĭomte argued that society needs scientific knowledge based on facts and evidence to solve its problems-not speculation and superstition, which characterize the religious and metaphysical stages of social development. The French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857)-often called the “father of sociology”-first used the term “sociology” in 1838 to refer to the scientific study of society. I will start from the modern founding father who first coined the discipline, Auguste Comte. However, there are various founding fathers of Sociology such as, Auguste Comte, Karl Heinrich Marx, David Emile Durkheim, Herbert Spencer and many more.

As society is a complex structure, the study of sociology is required in each and every step of life. A person who is engaged in the study of sociology is referred to as a sociologist.

It is the key study for the present situation. Sociology has emerged to be of great importance because of its impact on individuals and the society. But, things have altered in the present scenario. Before the emergence of sociology, society had never been the major concern and its study was carried in a very unscientific manner. Sociology is the scientific study of the society and its various elements. We received a wide variety of creative interpretations and responses, so browse our essay directory! Hassan Idris – Conflict Theory, Structural Functionalism, and Symbolic Interactionism

We had a really great turnout and would like to thank everyone who submitted an essay. This essay was written by Hassan Idris, a student at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. Students were prompted to respond to the question, “Why is sociology important?” We have awarded 16 finalists from all over the world, and we published these essays over the course of a few weeks.

This article on conflict theory, structural functionalism, and symbolic interactionism is being published on behalf of Applied Worldwide’s student essay competition.

Structural functional conflict and symbolic interaction theories