Critically asses the usefulness of the functionalist perspective to our understanding of society (33 marks)
The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. Functionalists take a structural approach towards society that concentrates on the way society controls the individual. Functionalists believe there are forces that influence our behaviour as well as the way we think. These are said to be as a consequence of the society we live in. There are many functionalists theorists who try to explain society which will be discussed below.
A main Functionalist is Emile Durkheim who believes that sociology is a science. He is a structuralist and positivist and thus disagrees with empathy, meanings and the social action theory. Functionalists believe that society is based around a value consensus and social solidarity, which is achieved by socialisation and social control. Other theorists such as Marxists and feminists would argue against this. Durkheim sought to explain social stability through the concept of solidarity, and differentiated between the mechanical solidarity of primitive societies and the organic solidarity of complex modern societies. According to Durkheim, more primitive or traditional societies were held together by mechanical solidarity; these societies have people involved in similar roles so labour division is simple. Therefore, a similar lifestyle is lived with common shared norms and values and beliefs. They have a consensus of opinion on moral issues giving society a social solidarity to guide behaviour. As there is a societal agreement, there is pressure to follow the value consensus, so therefore most do. Organic Solidarity showed that Industrialisation meant population grew rapidly with urbanisation occurring. As society develops, a division of labour occurs. This is when work