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    Criticisms of Functionalism

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    Amber47
    Functionalism is less popular today than in the 1950s due to its inability to explain diversity and conflict. Criticisms of functionalism include that it overemphasizes consensus and order while failing to explain social conflicts, it ignores individual freedom of choice and presents an oversocialized view of humans, and its view of socialization as always successful cannot explain real social problems like delinquency and drug use. Finally, functionalism is accused of ignoring unequal power distributions in society.

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    Criticisms of Functionalism

    Uploaded by

    Amber47
    528 views2 pages
    Functionalism is less popular today than in the 1950s due to its inability to explain diversity and conflict. Criticisms of functionalism include that it overemphasizes consensus and order while failing to explain social conflicts, it ignores individual freedom of choice and presents an oversocialized view of humans, and its view of socialization as always successful cannot explain real social problems like delinquency and drug use. Finally, functionalism is accused of ignoring unequal power distributions in society.

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    Sociology

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    Functionalism is less popular today than in the 1950s due to its inability to explain diversity and conflict. Criticisms of functionalism include that it overemphasizes consensus and order while failing to explain social conflicts, it ignores individual freedom of choice and presents an oversocialized view of humans, and its view of socialization as always successful cannot explain real social problems like delinquency and drug use. Finally, functionalism is accused of ignoring unequal power distributions in society.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    528 views2 pages

    Criticisms of Functionalism

    Uploaded by

    Amber47
    Functionalism is less popular today than in the 1950s due to its inability to explain diversity and conflict. Criticisms of functionalism include that it overemphasizes consensus and order while failing to explain social conflicts, it ignores individual freedom of choice and presents an oversocialized view of humans, and its view of socialization as always successful cannot explain real social problems like delinquency and drug use. Finally, functionalism is accused of ignoring unequal power distributions in society.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Criticisms Of Funtionalism

    Functionalism is far less popular in sociology today than it


    was in the 1950's. Part of its decline in popularity is probably
    linked to the problems it had attempting to explain all the
    diersity and con!ict that existed from the 19"0s onwards.
    #riticism of functionalism had been widespread.
    Functionalism has been criticised for oer$emphasising
    consensus and order% and failing to explain the social
    con!icts that characterise the modern world. &e see
    ery clear di'erences in behaiour all around us
    eeryday% and there may be clear cultural di'erences
    present in the same society. (ome Functionalists hae
    attempted to explain this by reference to subculture.
    )his can be de*ned as a way of life subscribed to by a
    signi*cant minority who may share some general
    alues and norms with large culture% but who may be in
    opposition to others.
    Functionalism has also been accused of ignoring the
    freedom of choice en+oyed by indiiduals. People
    choose what to do $ they do what makes sense to them.
    )heir behaiour and ideas are not imposed on them by
    structural factors beyond their control. ,n this sense%
    functionalism may present 'an oer$socialised' picture
    of human beings.
    )here may also be problems in the way functionalists
    iew socialisation as a postie process that neer fails.
    ,f this were the case then delin-uency% child abuse and
    illegal drug taking would not be the social problems
    they are.
    Finally% functionalism has been accused by .arxists of
    ignoring the fact that power is not e-ually distributed in
    society. (ome groups hae more wealth and power than
    others and may be able to impose thier norms and
    alues on less powerful groups. )he nest few topics
    focus on this process.

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