Marxism is the study of capitalist societies. The theory first came from the German sociologist Karl Marx. Marxist theory mainly studied the nuclear family (N.F). The definition of the nuclear family consists of a mother, father and their dependent children. Marx believed within the capital society there were two types of social classes the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat). His theory was the proletariat own nothing and the bourgeoisie owned all the means of production
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goods. Alternatively the functionalists argue that the family performs vital functions for society. For example, it benefits family members by offering mutual support and emotional satisfaction. Using the material from Item 2B and elsewhere assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism. (24 Marks) Each group in society has a different idea on what the main role of the family is. Marxists do not believe that society is based on value consensus
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Sociology 101 Exam 1 Take home A. Functionalist perspective emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability. Functionalists believe that everything and everyone have a place and purpose in society. If an aspect of social life does not contribute to a society’s survival, the aspect will not be passed from one generation to the next. Sometimes the function may be considered manifest (obvious) and other times it may be considered latent, or less obvious
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40% of marriages will end in divorce. Some couples are more likely to divorce than others – couples such as those who marry young, those who have a child or cohabit before marriage and those where one or both partners have been married before. Functionalists are interested in divorce because they argue that a high divorce rate does not necessarily prove that marriage as a social institution is under threat. One reason for the changing rates in divorce is due to changes in the law. In previous centuries
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Functionalists emphasise positive aspects of schools, this is the idea of a ‘consensus’ perspective; where there is an agreement about what is valued within a society. These are like Emile Durkheim's social facts or moral regulation in that they govern behaviour, and while they are coercive, they are also generally agreed upon where ‘The function of education is to transmit society’s norms and values’ . According to functionalists education performs a wide range of roles for society; these roles
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The Functionalist View of Stratification: 1. Main principles of structural functionalism: a. Societies are complex systems of interrelated and interdependent parts, and each part of a society significantly influences the others. b. Each part of a society exists because it has a vital function to perform in maintaining the existence or stability of society as a whole; the existence of any part of a society is therefore explained when its function for the whole is
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Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households (24 marks) According to functionalist sociologists, the family is a key institution of society. It performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefit of all its individual members. For example, according to George Peter Murdock, it provides for the stable satisfaction of the sex drive and thus avoids the social disruption and conflict
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described as an unequal society in terms of wealth and income. Social inequality from a sociological point of view means a lack of fairness between different groups of people living in society. The essay aims to explore the reasons behind the unequal distribution of wealth and income from a functionalist, Marxist and Weber point of view. From a functionalist point of view, the unequal distribution of wealth and income in contemporary Britain is necessary for the survival of society. They would argue that
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industrialized societies. • As articulated by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore, list the functions that social stratification provides for society. • Discuss Melvin Tumin's rebuttal to Davis and Moore's functionalist view of social stratification. • Explain the conflict perspective's view of social stratification as it relates to class conflict and scarce resources. • Evaluate Gerhard Lenski's attempt to synthesize the functionalist and conflict perspectives' views on social stratification
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groups can retain their power. Religion is used by the ruling class to justify their position. Marxist believes religion is a tool of class exploitation and oppression. Since religion disguises and legitimates the exploitative relationships of society by implying the world is shaped by god's will, which is therefore unchangeable. Due to religion people don’t attempt to change ‘gods will’ as they are promised rewards in the afterlife which will ease their pain of exploitation. Althusser argues
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