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functionalism on inequality - Coggle Diagram
functionalism on inequality
intro/overview
Assume that society has certain basic needs functional perequisitties- have to be met if society wants to survive
Stratification in society, based on social and economic status, helps to provide order and stability in society
Talcott parsons
Order, stability and cooperation in society are based on value consensus, which is a general and unspoken agreement in society about what is good and worthwhile.
Stratification derives from common values. If universal values exist, and there is a set of criteria against which to measure people’s behaviour, then it follows that individuals will be evaluated and placed in some kind of rank order as to who is meeting those criteria best.
Those who perform well in terms of society’s shared values will be ranked highly, and therefore will be rewarded highly. They will gain power and status because they have performed well against common values.
Different societies have different value systems, and the ways of attaining high position differ in different cultures. But stratification is an inevitable - therefore some form of stratification will result from the ranking of individuals. There will be different criteria in every society, but there will always be some form of ranking.
see it as a good thing
general belief that stratification systems are right, and proper – bc they are an expression of the shared values of the society. all living by the same codes. So well-paid professionals, heads of companies etc- seen to deserve their rewards because members of society place a high value on their skills and achievements.
Parsons -saw may well be some degree of “sour grapes” on the part of the “losers”. ( look at how he is framing this – people who are at the bottom as “losers”, and clearly just jealous of the winners – Marxists and Feminists take issue with this view). But conflict would be kept in check by the common value system which justifies the unequal distribution of rewards.
So people would be socialised into seeing the importance of the inequalities and realising they are just.
society is based on relationships of cooperation and consensus
Groups in society relate to each other in a relationship of cooperation and interdependence. bc all groups in society rely on each other for survival; exchange of goods and services with other groups, so the relationship between groups has to be one of reciprocity.
When society has a highly specialised division of labour – which is what capitalism is – then there needs to be a high level of organisation and planning, and this confers power and status on the organisers.
differences in power (power differentials)- based on shared values. People accept that some people have legitimate authority= accepted that those in positions of authority use their power to pursue collective goals that derive from society’s central values.
Inequality It serves to integrate all of the groups in society.
davis and m
Davis and Moore - functionalist theory of stratification
They started with the observation that stratification exists in every known human society.
A functional prerequisite that all societies share is the need for effective role allocation and performance.
All roles must be filled
2.They must be filled by those best able to perform them
3.Individuals must be trained to fill them
4.The roles must be performed conscientiously
All societies therefore need an effective system for ensuring effective role allocation and performance.
roles
People differ in terms of innate abilities and talents and positions differ in terms of importance to survival and maintain society. Some position = more functionally important than others. These require special skills for the reflective performance and number of individuals the necessary ability a quiet skills is limited.
inevitable misery
desire to achieve these rewards gives people an incentive to work hard for those positions. The promise of high rewards is necessary to motivate people to make all the sacrifice they need to in order to achieve success.
Davis and Moore regarded social inequality as a functional necessity for all societies. They saw it as a solution to problems faced by all social systems i.e. placing and motivating individuals in the social structure. They offered no other means of solving this problem and so social inequality is an inevitable feature of human society.
Differential rewards contribute to the maintenance of social order (now that is a bloody Obi Wan Kenobi mind trick there! I have to have this pile of cash, and you have that snot rag, because it maintains social order).