Chapter 6 - Emile Durkheim Flashcards
Summary of the Functionalism: The normal and the pathological- Emile Durkheim
According to the functionalist perspective of sociology, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s stability and functioning as a whole. For example, the government provides education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself running. That is, the family is dependent upon the school to help children grow up to have good jobs so that they can raise and support their own families. In the process, the children become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, who in turn support the state.
If all goes well, the parts of society produce order, stability, and productivity. If all does not go well, the parts of society then must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity. For example, during a financial recession with its high rates of unemployment and inflation, social programs are trimmed or cut. Schools offer fewer programs. Families tighten their budgets. And a new social order, stability, and productivity occur.
Chapter 6, ‘Functionalism: The Normal and Pathological’ by Durkheim presents the idea that society is comparable to a living organism, and that all of its aspects must serve a purpose in the organism’s continued survival. If we assume this is accurate, deviance then must be a necessary part of society’s continuing functioning. Considering this, it is not even a structure that society is forced to put up with, but instead that it is essential.
Deviance not only introduces social change and progress, but it needs to exist because a crime-free society is impossible. It is impossible because there cannot be a society in which the individuals do not differ more or less from the collective type and naturally some of those individuals that diverge will have criminal character. If no crime occurs, the collective consensus makes the ordinary scandalous. The functionalist theory states that deviance is necessary for society to function.
