Basics of Sociology

Question 1

Karl Marx (“Founding Father of Sociology,”) (1818-1883)

Answer 1

He was a Marxist.
Capitalism oppresses the w/c.
There needs to be a revolution to make all people equal.
He thought that a society’s economic system (the infrastructure) influenced its non-economic system (the superstructure) and that in turn the superstructure determines the values and belief of the society.

Workers are employed to produce goods, which are sold at a profit and only a small percentage of that profit ends up in the worker’s wages. He believes that if workers’ were allowed to notice the unfairness of this, they’d revolt. He believes to avoid the w/c revolting the superstructure within society is shaped so that the worker’s accept their lot in life.

Superstructure = social institutions e.g. religion / family / education.

Believes that society is divided into two classes.

Proletariat = w/c = they form the majority of society but have little power.
Bourgeoisie = ruling class = they form the minority within society however, have all the money and power.

Question 2

Emile Durkheim (“Founding Father of Sociology,”) (1858-1917)

Answer 2

He was a Functionalist.
He believed that society was made up of different institutions, each with their own functions.
These social institutions work together in harmony to create a stable society.

Question 3

Max Weber (“Founding Father of Sociology,”) (1864-1920)

Answer 3

Sociologists should study both structures and actions to understand society.
A person’s behaviour is shaped by =
Structural factors = e.g. the law.
Subjective factors = e.g. emotion.

Question 4

Neo-Marxism / Neo-Marxists

Answer 4

It is a 20th Century version of Marxism.
It was developed to be more relevant to the modern world.
Neo-Marxists focus on ideology (a set of ideas and beliefs about how things should be).
They study how this ideology is communicated and enforced by the ruling class to maintain its power.

Question 5

Criticisms of Marx

Answer 5

Functionalists = Marx puts too much emphasis on the role of economic structures on shaping ideas and beliefs.
Interactionists = He puts too much emphasis on class and not enough on the individual.
Postmodernists = social class doesn't have as much of an important influence on individual identity any more. People are defined by the choices they make not whether they are a worker or a boss.

Question 6

Jonathan Gershuny (1992) (Interactionist)

Answer 6

He made an interactionist analysis on gender roles =

1. Individual choice = some women decided that they wanted to work outside the home.
2. Large scale social change = Male partners took on more childcare and housework duties. It became acceptable for men to adopt roles within the family, which had once been considered feminine.

Question 7

Main points of Functionalism / Marxism / Feminism / Interactionism

Answer 7

Functionalism = Society is made up of different institutions with different jobs, which function together as a whole.

Marxism = Society is split into two classes. The ruling class exploits and oppresses the working class.

Feminism = Society is patriarchal and women have fewer opportunities and rights than men.

Interactionism = The behaviour of and the interaction between individuals within a society determines how that particular society works.

Question 8

New Right (e.g. Charles Murray)

Answer 8

Form of consensus structuralism.
They are similar to Functionalists because they believe that societies need values and institutions to maintain social order.
They believe that the nuclear family is one of the most important social institutions and that maintaining traditional roles within the family e.g. man goes to work and women stays at home to do the housework, is crucial to maintaining social order within society.

They say that traditional family is under threat and that this had led to a decline in moral standards and a breakdown of society.

Question 9

Criticisms some Feminists have about other Feminists

Answer 9

Radical Feminists criticise Liberal Feminists = they believe that it isn’t just institutions that are patriarchal like Liberal Feminists believe, it is all relationships as well. E.g. families have a male dominated structure as well.

Question 10

Criticisms of Interactionists

Answer 10

Marxists = Interactionists don’t pay enough attention to conflict or to the fact that some social groups are more powerful than others.

Functionalists = Interactionists don’t acknowledge the importance of the socialisation process.

Question 11

Criticisms of the New Right

Answer 11

Feminists = they disagree with the New Right’s belief that the traditional family roles are crucial and significant to society because they believe that traditional family roles are oppressive and that they reinforce patriarchal views within society.

Question 12

Postmodernists

Answer 12

It was introduced as a reaction to modernism.
Modernism =
It is the period of industrialisation and urbanisation, which began with the Industrial Revolution and was the time when rational and scientific thinking began to become more valued.
Modernist theories =
Functionalism / Marxism / etc = they are called “metanarratives,” = they are big all-encompassing stories, which explain why things are the way they are.

Postmodernists =
society has moved on from modernism and it isn’t structured and order in the same way anymore.
Society is more flexible and increased globalisation has caused an increase choice available to people when it comes to cultures and lifestyles.
They say that metanarratives are no longer appropriate because there are now many different ways to explain why society is the way it is, rather than just one universal truth.

Question 13

Criticisms of Postmodernists

Answer 13

Functionalists = they say that Postmodernism ignores the roles of institutions.

Interactionists = Postmodernism ignores how individuals interact.

Marxists = Postmodernism ignores inequalities.