P1 P2 Sociological Perspectives

P1 – Explain the principal sociological perspectives

In this report, I will be talking about Sociological Perspectives. This will include talking in detail about the different sociological perspectives such as Feminism, Functionalism and Marxism. I will then go on to discuss the sociological perspective on health.

First, I will be talking about Functionalism. Functionalists say that society is like an organism in the human body. One of the key concepts in this perspective is that of George Murdock (1949). He said that every society has four principle functions which were: Sexual, Reproduction, Socialisation and Economical. The sexual function allowed people to express their sexuality in a way that was approved by society, functionalists pointed out that it was only going to be approved between two married adults. The reproductive function was to provide stability for the upbringing children. Socialisation function was the responsibility the parents had to teach their children the suitable way to behave in society. The economical function was to ensure that food, shelter and financial security was provided for all of the members in a specific family. Another functionalist, Talcott Parson (1951) argued that there just two functions: the primary socialisation of children and stabilisation of the adult personality. This meant that the function of the family was only to make sure the children had been taught how to behave in society, and to keep the adults happy as the family will have acted as a ‘warm bath’ providing warmth and emotional security, mainly to the male. Functionalists believed that nuclear family was the only adequate family type and therefore they reject single-parent families and same-sex families.

I will now talk about Marxism. This is both a conflict and a structuralist model. It was first developed by a man called Karl Marx. He said that there were two social classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the small group of people who owned the workplaces, the rich, and the proletariat is a large group of people who were the workers, the poor. He believed that the bourgeoisie and the proletariat would always be in conflict with one another.  The owners of the businesses wanted high profits but the employees would want higher wages, which is why this is known as a conflict model. Marxists also say that the ruling class have power on other social constitutions because they control what is said in the media and legislation that influences the curriculum in schools. When families go through the process of socialisation it is the beliefs and values of the ruling class that are encouraged, not the proletariat. The proletariat does not realise that they are being exploited and are actually serving the interests of the bourgeoisie, but they do not realise this which allows the exploitation to continue, this is called false-consciousness. Marxists see the family as contributing to a constant social system and say that the family is ‘the servant of the capitalist system’. They think that the family should socialise the children and preparing them for the routines and discipline needed for work. Marxists see the family as an emotional base that is safe, where people come after work to feel rested and refreshed. Marxists believe that a nuclear family is the best family as it is easier to determine that a child is rightful to inherit its father’s assets once they pass away, as in a nuclear family the adults are supposed to be monogamous.