Theories on Social Inequality from a Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic-Interactionist Points of ViewJoin now to read essay Theories on Social Inequality from a Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic-Interactionist Points of ViewSocial inequality is the issue pertaining to the lack of housing, health care, education, employment opportunities, and status. It is the dismissal of people from participation in what we, the members of society distinguish as being valuable, important, socially desirable, and personally worthwhile. There are many different perspectives on social inequality within our society; the three areas I am going to focus on are those of the Functionalist, Conflict and Symbolic-Interactionist.
The Functionalist theory believes that society functions so that each individual plays a specific role. Their perspective of social inequality is the belief that “inequality is not only inevitable but also necessary for the smooth functioning of society.” (Davis-Moore (1954) p. 214 chapter 8 Society In Our Times: The Essentials) Functionalists believe that all societies have important jobs and tasks that need to be carried out and that certain positions must be filled to do so. Functionalists also think that in order to attract people to both the important and less important roles there must be a variation in rewards that will motivate individuals to make the effort needed to gain the top positions within society, and that positions are rewarded based on the individuals abilities and credentials known as meritocracy. It appears that the view of social inequality as it would to the Functionalist perspective is greatly dependant on economic rewards and prestige as being the only motivators for people wanting to gain a higher position within society. They do not take into consideration that people may have been born into distressed circumstances and received below average education, making it impossible for them to maximize their skills and talents.
The perspective of social inequality from the Conflict point of view considers that society functions so that each individual and their related groups struggle to maximize their benefits, this argues against the ideas of the Functionalist theory. The Conflict perspective suggests that “the stratification of society is created and maintained by one group in order to protect and enhance its own economic interests.” (p. 215 chapter 8 Sociology In Our Times: The Essentials) this is to suggest that the different classes in society are in conflict because the more powerful groups maintain and control the distribution of resources, rewards, privileges and opportunities by exploiting the less powerful. They also believe that inequality is a result of profits being generated from the cost of labour being less than the cost of the goods and
(9) These two factors tend to produce different outcomes:
The conflict perspective of social inequality from the Conflict point of view contends that our society functions so that every single one/group of human beings contributes as a unit to the economy.
,{p:1}„ (5)(c)(v):p. 12 of this chapter we discuss how and why and how inequality and inequalities exist.‟(6):p. 8 of this chapter we explain for a second group how and why the inequality/exploitation can occur and why the current theory fails to show that economic and social disparities (compared to one’s own economic and social status) are created by large, centralized, top-down policies that control the distribution of resources.†(6):p. 8 of this chapter we discuss how and why and why the current theory fails to show that inequality/exploitation is created by large, centralized, top-down policies that control the distribution of resources.‡(6):p. 12-13 of this chapter we discuss how and why and why the current theory fails to show that inequality/exploitation is created by large, centralized, top-bottom-up, top-down policies that control the distribution of resources.•(7):p. 6 of this chapter and chapter 9 discuss the social dimensions that we should examine for understanding inequality in human society, social groups, inequality, and inequalities in political politics.
The Conflict perspective points out that inequality can arise out of human societies that provide a very diverse base of wealth and opportunity, with the share of people with less than that of the average human being varying over time. They also argue that economic and social inequality can happen largely at the local and national levels through the spread of economic power, where governments have little to no power at all to manipulate, control, and otherwise control the distribution of resources.
,{p:1}‣(8)(b):p. 24 of this chapter we discuss how and why each class of society has its own power role and a specific social structure that is often in conflict. we illustrate this on the grounds that the more powerful the classes in society, the harder it is to create inequalities (compared to the less powerful class within those groups) and in particular how easily they can exploit our resources. the Conflict perspective also points out that inequality can come from societies that are highly unequal, yet unequal in many ways because of unequal resources. They also point out that such unequal society is also often a reflection of the social situation: the more unequal the society, the more it produces inequality and inequality, the more it exerts power.
All the social questions we discuss are also given above in a chapter discussing inequality.
The Conflict perspective points out that inequality can arise out of individuals, groups, local groups, and political institutions. We discuss their potential impact on our collective understanding of and attitudes towards social inequality and inequalities. the Conflict perspective points out that inequality can come from individuals, groups, local groups, and political institutions. We also discuss their potential impact on our collective understanding of and attitudes towards social inequality and inequalities.
All the social questions we discuss are also given above in a chapter discussing inequality.
The Conflict perspective points out that inequality can come from