Social theories Flashcards
how does conflict theory explain social change? 1
states that society will eventually reach a point where its own inequalities will create a barrier to further economic growth at which conflict will bring about revolutionary change
who was the conflict theory created by 1
Karl Marx - noticed a trend of conflict between bodies of economic power and people controlled by that power
criticisms of conflict theory 5
- Ralf Dahrendorf criticised it saying it too narrowly focused on economic factors
- doesn’t acknowledge that social change is possible without violence or conflict
- downplays inherent unit in society, taking a negative stance on conflict, tension and coercion
- Dahrendorf also recognised that all societies feature power and authority and that it was normal for some to have power and others to obey e.g. parent and child
- doesn’t account for incremental change
key features of conflict theory 4
- assumes society is in competition for limited resources
- assumes when the struggle for power reaches crisis point, the working class will overthrow the ruling class
- the working class revolts and pushes for change
- social change is derived from conflict resulting from inequalities in power and access to resources in a society
explain conflict theory in relation to India 3
- competition over resources: exploitation of labour e.g. according to India Reborn 2014 multinational companies are dominating the Bastar hills, an area of extreme poverty where the forests are rich in resources critical to India’s economic boom –> environmental and social effects like rivers going red with pollution, villagers displaced
- class and gender consciousness and tensions building: women are being empowered with legal rights and protection such as the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961, Sati Prevention Act 1987 and Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 but it is becoming a threat to men’s power and privileges over women e.g. ‘to add insult to injury, women have introduced domestic violence bill wherein the women will have a legal license to drag her husband to jail if he resists her domination’
- continued ongoing conflict between groups in society –> 2002 Gujarat violence was prompted by the burning of a train were 58 Hindu pilgrim Muslims were killed and resulted in days of violence between Hindu and Muslims, a historical violence that continues to today. The riot resulted in over 1,000 dead. April 2022, Jahangirpuri violence. –> female Muslim politicians were 94% more likely to receive ethnic or religious slurs than from other religions (Amnesty International study analysing over 114000 tweets directed at female politicians)
how does evolutionary theory explain social change? 1
explains that society moves in a specific, linear direction, continuously progressing to higher levels from simple to more complex structures
who established evolutionary theory? 1
Herbert Spencer amongst others - aimed to give a coherent account of the progress of the external world, based on Social Darwinism and that people who were more socially evolved were winners. Likened social change to organic evolution, ‘societies, like living bodies, begin as germs - originate from masses which are extremely minute in comparison with the masses some of them eventually reach’
criticisms of evolutionary theory 2
- doesn’t explain or account for resistance to change or for societies evolving in different ways and directions
- often leads to supremacy because it assumes that western societies in being more advanced are also superior –> ethnocentric view, labels all primitive societies as inferior to post-industrial societies, assumes all change is progressing towards a western model
key features of evolutionary theory 3
- according to Emile Durkheim this theory was about organic rather than mechanical solidarity meaning a society was more advanced where it was individualistic with specialised labour rather than society working as a whole with little division of labour
- change happens incrementally, continuously improves
- macro-level theory based on the assumption that all human societies continue to develop from simple to complex and that all change is progress
how does functionalist theory explain social change?
based on the idea that change is a gradual and infrequent system as cultural norms and values change at a slow rate
key features of functionalist theory 6
- assumes as societies develop they become increasingly complex and interdependent
- considers social conflict unhealthy and an abnormal social characteristic, undesirable consequences are dysfunctions of society
- assumes all members of society accept their roles and the moral values of their society
- assumes society is working together towards a common goal
- believes it is important to address society as a whole in terms of its constituent
- demonstrates how society as a whole works together to overcome economic and other changes
who established the functionalist theory? 2
- developed by Emile Durkheim (believed society was a complex system who’s parts work together to promote solidarity and stability) and Talcott Parsons (saw functionalism as a representation of society in its natural state - stable and balanced) –> society as a model of ‘interdependent parts which work together to maintain the equilibrium of the whole’
- Herbert Spencer explains that elements of society as ‘organs’ to keep the ‘body’ of society functioning so when one ‘organ’ doesn’t work anymore another one must rise and take its place
criticisms of functionalist theory 3
- assumes society is working together towards a common goal, doesn’t explain resistance to change
- assumes all change is progress and doesn’t acknowledge the role of individuals in achieving social change
- only attempts to account for slow institutional change and cannot explain upheaval and social unrest
how does interactionalist theory attempt to explain social change?
explains that individuals create their own realities and perspectives of the world based on patterns of interactions, people attach meaning to these interactions through which they make sense of the world
key features of interactionalist theory 4
- attempts to analyse the meaning of everyday life through participant observation, develops an understanding of the underlying forms of human interaction
- ascribes meaning from interactions with others and society
- humans aren’t solitary, they are always connected to each other, people develop their own reasons and opinions to change but many are based on external factors
- humans are ‘symbol manipulating’ animals through which they can transmit culture and complex history
