Fuctionalist Explanations of Inequality Flashcards
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Intro
Differences that exist in society exist (wealth / power / status):
Motivate the most talented people to work hard for the jobs with the best reward (MERITOCRACY)
- Society is run by the most talented & motivated people (best interest for all)
SOCIAL DARWINISM THEORIES:
- Emerged 19th & early 20th century
- Darwin: Survival of the fittest (animal kingdom)
- Strongest members of species were those who would survive & breed
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Key Points & Theorists
Organic Analogy
Social Stratification
Consensus Theory
Spencer
Davis & Moore
Parsons
Role Allocation (Education)
Marx & Fem Evaluation: Wilson & Pickett
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Organic Analogy
Each function of society contributes to the entire wellbeing of society
- Social institutions persist because they benefit society in some aspect
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Social Stratification
A functional prerequisite
Traditional societies - stratification based on cast
Industrial societies - stratification based on economic status (social class)
- Indispensable to the stability of society (all require a system of stratification to place people in different hierarchical roles)
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Consensus Theory
Sees inequality & social stratification as a positive contribution to society
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Spencer
(SOCIAL DARWINISM)
Why do societies need the poor?
- Helping the poor provides others with jobs
- We feel good about ourselves if we help the poor
- The poor act as an example of poor work effort (motivates others)
- Poor people will do the job nobody wants to do (e.g. cleaning)
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Davis & Moore Theory
Features of industrial societies = relatively open competitive systems of social stratification
- Functionalists assume that these societies are relatively meritocratic
System of Stratification
High levels of income inequality = good
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Davis & Moore System of Stratification
based largely on achieved status
- whole of society benefits from talented people climbing the ladder of opportunity
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
High levels of income inequality = good
Provides a motivating factor & enhances competition which encourages economic growth for society as a whole
- High incomes earned by people @ top of society = seen as a reward for the sacrifices individuals may have made
Maximum utilisation of human resources in society - Helps economy grow
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Parsons Theory
People in society accepting their positions in society as being fair & just is important
American capitalism - best typifies the appropriate value system around social consensuses
THE AMERICAN DREAM
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Parsons - The American Dream
- Most Americans buy into a system which values enterprise, competition, individual opportunity / achievement, etc.
- High status = widely seen as a reward to conforming to the values of American society
- Stratification can help reinforce the collective goals of society
- Members of society who lack qualities required for top jobs occupy low positions in the stratification system
- If individuals buy into the value system, they will accept their social position
- If they can agree that some jobs deserve higher rewards than others because they’re more important than others to the stability of society = SOCIAL STABILITY
E.g. most people are happy to accept the idea that surgeons deserve more economic reward than retail assistants
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Education
Role Allocation function of education
- Happens through exams
- Seen as fair - based on universal standards of assessment which apply to everyone
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Marxist Evaluation
- funct. writers such as Davis & Moore provide rich people with an ideology that justifies their greed & selfishness
- meritocracy & American dream = myth
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Feminism Evaluation
Discrimination in society based on gender undermines the assumption that society = meritocratic
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Name Evaluation
Wilson & Pickett: The spirit level
- Health & social problems = worse in societies which have high levels of income inequality
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Davis-Moore Theory - Initiation
1945 - Davis & Moore attempted to explain social inequality in economic terms
- For society to function, there had to be a system of unequal rewards
- The ability to access a higher reward system encourages individuals to put in extra effort
Social stratification - a system of unequal rewards that facilitates meritocracy
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Davis-Moore Theory - Ideologies
- Inequality is in all societies so must be necessary for societies to function and develop
- Inequality is good for society because it exists in all societies
- Not all positions in society are equally pleasant or important to the success of society
- Must be rewards which encourage the best people to do the most important jobs
- The most important positions are the best rewarded
- The least important positions are poorly rewarded
- Pay and status therefore reflects a person’s value to society
Functionalist Explanations of Inequality:
Davis-Moore Theory - Criticisms
- It is difficult to decide the functional importance of any job
- CEOs earn more than nurses - more valuable to society?
- Tumin - Provides rich people with an ideology that justifies their greed & selfishness
- Makes them believe they are morally right because they’re in power
- Mx - Limited / no chance for people from the poorest sections of society to move up regardless of their ability
- Fem - Gender inequality = built into society structures to the point that many people don’t see that it occurs
- Some people do not want wealth / status and others are not pushed to achieve by a desire for money but from motives of their own
- Different belief systems of success
