Free Essay On Functionalism And Conflict Perspective

The functionalist theory on sociology believes that everything in society is interrelated and dependent on one another to give rise to a better society. Functionalism supports the belief that all the aspects in the society today contribute to its productivity and stability when people work together. Education is an aspect of society that can exemplify functionalism. Education is a communal effort from both the government and the society. The two have to work together for it to achieve its full purpose. The government oversees the education of the children in society. Upon finishing school, the children are in a better place to support their families since they are eligible for jobs. The children, also, can pay taxes when they have good jobs. In such an arrangement, everybody in society benefits from education. In addition, society, through different ways contributes to the education of the children. Taxes are the incentives the government gets, and it can use them for further benefit to the society.
The government and politics represent the elements in the conflict perspective. The theory mainly talks about those in power influencing the social order of things in society. In addition, those who have the power influence the distribution of resources; hence, the idea of togetherness is not incorporated. In this case, the government acts on behalf of the individuals in society and controls all the resources available. Politics takes center stage in influencing the government, who in turn impose regulation on their subjects because they have the power to do so. Politicians in the government have their interests that they advance. The aspect of consensus between society and those in power is not felt at any level. Those in power are controlled by issues of color, class and gender. There are a lot of these aspects in the government today. They determine who can be in power, and who cannot. Such cases are the negatives that conflict perspective theorists sought to expose, in a challenge of functionalists.