Sociology- functionalist view on social inequality
- Created by: chloeej14
- Created on: 17-04-17 14:44
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- Functionalist view of social inequality
- Why do they believe inequality exists
- They argue that the differences that exist in society with regard to prestige, power, wealth and status exist to motivate the most talented people in society to work hard for the best jobs- meritocratic society.
- social darwinism
- Darwin described the idea of survival of the fittest in the Animal Kingdom and he claimed the strongest members of species were those who would survive to breed
- This concept was applied by some philosophers to society. All social Darwinist theories believe the strongest people should be wealthy and powerful.
- Davis and Moore- Assumed that the highest paid jobs were also the most important. Inequality is functional for society as it ensures the most important postitions are filled by the most ablest. People are attracted to and compete for the jobs that are highly rewarding- If there weren't any rewards individuals wouldn't be so quick to try and work harder.
- critics of Davis and Moore- Tumin was one of the major critics of Davis and Moore- he argued that this provided the rich with an ideology that justified their greed and selfishness. Marxists argue that there is limited or no chance for those from the poorer classes to move up regardless of their ability.
- Parson-Talcott Parsons looked at the stratification of individuals. He believed that this can reinforce the collective goals of others in society. Indivduals aspire to get one of the best jobs in order to climb up the social class ladder. Those from the lower classes buy into the idea that high status jobs earn the most rewards and settle for low paid, often, manual jobs. This agreement of jobs, Parson claimed, is due to the socialisation process where individuals are taught the same norms and values.
- Why do they believe inequality exists
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