Conflict theory and functionalist theory provide different perspectives on society. Conflict theory, developed by Marx, views society as consisting of groups that compete over scarce resources, leading to conflict and struggle. Functionalist theory, developed by Durkheim, views society as a system of interrelated parts that work together to maintain stability and equilibrium. Private schools can be seen through either lens - conflict theory may see them as perpetuating class divisions, while functionalism may see them as fulfilling important social functions and helping to socialize children.

1. CAPE Caribbean Sociology
Conflict and Functionalist
Theories
Wolmer’s Boys’ School
Prepared by
Christopher A Humber

2. Conflict/Functionalist Theories
KARL MARX EMILE DURKHEIM

3. CONFLICT THEORY
• Begins with Marx and his analysis of
history
• Thesis/antithesis = struggle (conflict)
• Synthesis = a new order is produced
because of the struggle between the
classes
• All of history can be understood in this way
• Three stages of history: feudalism,
capitalism & socialism (it was an inevitable
destination!)

4. Always a struggle
• The materialist view of history = the most
important determinant of social life is the
work people are doing, especially work
that results in provision of the basic
necessities of life, food, clothing and
shelter.
• Marx thought that the way the work is
socially organized and the technology
used in production will have a strong
impact on every other aspect of society.

5. Power=ownership
• He maintained that everything of value in
society results from human labour.
Thus, Marx saw working men and women as
engaged in making society, in creating the
conditions for their own existence.
• Every part of human history and existence
must be understood through the lens of
social/economic theory
• All relationships are based on
conflict/struggle

6. Only 1 institution: private
property
• The central institution of capitalist society
is private property, the system by
which capital (that is, money, machines,
tools, factories, and other material objects
used in production) is controlled by a small
minority of the population. This leads to
two opposed classes, the owners of
capital (called the bourgeoisie) and the
workers (called the proletariat), whose
only property is their own labour time,
which they have to sell to the capitalists.

7. • Economic exploitation leads directly to
political oppression, as owners make use
of their economic power to gain control of
the state and turn it into a servant of
bourgeois economic interests. Police
power, for instance, is used to enforce
property rights and guarantee unfair
contracts between capitalist and worker.

8. Conflict theory + marriage

9. The Marriage Scam
• 1884
• Built on Marx’s ideas
• Monogamy is an invention to control
sexual reproduction
• Marriage is a social construct to guarantee
private property to biological children
• Conclusion: marriage is exploitation of
women

10. Oppression is everywhere!
• The economic structure of society moulds
the superstructure, including ideas (e.g.,
morality, ideologies, art, and literature) and
the social institutions that support the
class structure of society (e.g., the state,
the educational system, the family, and
religious institutions).
• What do you think? Is school oppressive?

11. Conflict theory & private schools
• Because the dominant or ruling
class (the bourgeoisie) controls the social
relations of production, the
dominant ideology in capitalist society is
that of the ruling class.
• Ideology and social institutions, in turn,
serve to reproduce and perpetuate the
economic class structure.
• Does private school education perpetuate
the class system? What do you think?

12. Functionalist theory / Durkheim
• First theory in
sociology
• Two fundamentals:
• 1- application of
scientific method
(sociologists must be
objective & without
bias)
• 2- institutions fulfill
basic human needs
and all groups play a
role in achieving
equilibrium

13. Balance, equilibrium, stability
• Key words for functionalism
• Think of any system that must co-ordinate
its parts for survival (body & organs)
• A social system with needs that must be
met
• When change in one group happens, other
groups must adjust, adapt, respond...to
accommodate for the change, finding the
equilibrium again
• HOMOEOSTASIS IS THE KEY WORD

14. A society is
• A system of inter-related “parts”
• A change in one affects the others
• Most changes are the result of “evolution”
or natural progression of ideas and social
change
• Durkheim was influenced by Darwin`s
work
• Functionalism focuses on the individual
and how social forces influence him
(Macro perspective)

15. The social self
• Functionalism understands the individual
to be a product of social forces in the
environment
• Almost puppet-like (has been the criticism)
• The individual`s place in the social
structure will determine their actions
• Internalized social expectations and act
accordingly in order to satisfy the needs of
the group
• Social control may be explicit or implicit

16. • Functionalist want to PREDICT behaviour
• This explains the emphasis on the
scientific method
• Shared values (solidarity) is key to group
cohesiveness
• Example: laws, rules, constitutions are an
explicit expression of supreme values
(justice, freedom) that are held in common
by a group/society

17. • Functionalism is a macro approach to
studying society; it defines society as
a system of interrelated parts.
• A good metaphor is the body with its
interrelated organs that all work together
to produce the state of health of the
person. It has built in mechanisms that
maintain stasis or balance. (Sweating,
shivering, etc.)

18. • In society, when things happen to provoke
change or throw it off kilter, other
mechanisms come into play to help bring
back to a balance. Sometimes this new
balance is slow change, in the case of
people`s values changing faster than the
laws or the other way around. What
examples can you think of to prove this
theory?

19. Conflict + Functionalist