Compare and contrast functionalist and conflict perspective of sociology?

Question

Compare and contrast functionalist and conflict perspective of sociology?

Answer 1

Well, obviously, the main difference is that functionalists believe that we are all "bad people" and need to be controlled, where as the conflict theory (Marxism) believes we are good people at heart, but we are just oppressed by the system.  

Answer 2

Conflict Theory (Marx) power, inequality, exploitation

Marxist-based social theory which argues that individuals and groups (social classes) within society have differing amounts of material and non-material resources (the wealthy vs. the poor) and that the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with less power.

 Individuals subordinated to society.

 Work was devoted to explaining how capitalism shaped society.

 Profit is produced through the exploitation of the working class.

 Considered the economic organization of society the most important influence on what humans think and how they behave.

 Theorized that society had three dimensions: political, economic, and cultural.

 Believed that to understand social behavior one had to understand the meaning that a behavior had for social actors.

 Struggle, competition

 Power, coercion

Functionalism (Durkheim, etc.)  Social institutions, social stability, interdependent

Society is composed of interdependent parts working together to fill the needs of society.  

 Individuals occupy fixed social roles.

 Viewed society as an entity larger than the sum of its parts.

 Conceptualized social facts as social patterns external to individuals.

 Discovered the social basis of human behavior.

 Disorganization and adjustment to achieve equilibrium.

 Consensus on common values.

Good Luck!