Marxist And Symbolic Interactionist Perspectives

“People think that the arts are optional and they aren’t. They teach a level of emotional depth that’s equally important to mathematical skill. You can replace some math skills with a calculator if you know how to operate the thing, but there’s no calculator for human interaction”. This is a quote by actor Hal Sparks depicting the importance and necessity of face to face interaction. These interactions are central to a stable society as it assumes meanings are created through interaction. This is a theory known as symbolic interactionism and is one of three major sociological perspectives. Symbolic interactionism is an essential part of a stable society and is very apparent in the novel Gang Leader For A Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, where the

Sociology is the study of the behaviour of people within society. It helps us to understand how society works and the impact of relationships and interactions between people and society.

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

In this essay I am going to compare and contrast Functionalism and Marxism. They are both sociological perspectives which have theories about society and the people that live within it. They attempt to explain how society influences people, and similarly how people influence society. However, the two perspectives are clearly different.

Everyday thousands of senior citizens and people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia suffer from abuse by a caregiver. Most of the abuse is in the form of emotional or physical abuse, but there are also a number of different types of abuse including financial abuse. The abuse can either take place in a medical setting such as a nursing home or hospital, or it can also be done by the victim’s own family members. These senior citizens are mostly targeted due to the fact that they are mentally incapacitated; they do not have a very strong short term memory, and sometimes they do not have the ability to talk to another individual about how their caregiver has been abusing them.

Symbolic interactionism can be easily described as the “interactions of individuals with the larger institutions of social structure” (Ainbinder, 2015 p. 20). It can also be explained as focusing on ways, which meanings emerge through human life (symbolic interactionism, 2003 para. 2). In everyday life, it represents that people are repeatedly observing and understanding through their social interactions (Ainbinder, 2015 p. 20). Symbolic Interactionism can be defined in many ways, simply it means that everyday we are observing our surroundings.

The functionalist perspective considers societies working in order to maintain a united society. From the perspective of a functionalist, in order to sustain a united society, norms and values must be applied. Therefore, if differences such as race cause tension, the possibility of having a united culture will cease to be. Secondly, the conflict theory places emphasis on opposition, coercion, and inequality within society. From the viewpoint of the conflict theory, in the case of racial profiling, inequality comes as a result of the exploitation of the minority by the majority. Therefore, exploitation leads the group with greatest influence to use its power in order to protect its interests against the opposing party. The causes of this theory would be inequality demonstrated to the minority group; meanwhile a solution would be to exploit the opposing group with the intent of protecting one’s interest. Thirdly, the symbolic interactionist relates to seeing society as the result of symbols that people give meaning to through their daily interactions. From the perspective of a symbolic interactionist, in order to form society in a certain image, it is imperative to understand the symbolism in society. Through comprehending the shared meaning connected to symbols in society, a person can understand how

Marx’s view on social change is due to the struggle between different classes within society who are constantly competing with each other to improve their way of life and the condition that they are in. Marxists analysis leads to the conclusion that capitalism; the currently dominant form of economic management, leads to the oppression of the proletariat; who not only make up the majority of the world 's population, but who also spend their lives working for the benefit of the bourgeoisie or the wealthy ruling class in society. Since the death of Karl Marx in 1883 his viewpoints have not been viewed not to be relevant. Many times since his death his viewpoints have come up as every new generation challenges the unequal, unjust and the people who support every capitalism system and each new generation looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in. People who are classed as

Conflict and symbolic interactionism theories can help explain the necessary power level preconditions of police brutality against black bodies. Police brutality is a form of Institutional racism in the way policies and laws are crafted and put into practice, such as the decades-long set of policing and legal policies known as “The War on Drugs,” which has disproportionately targeted neighbourhoods and communities that are predominantly black. The police force is one of the most visible features of control and governance. Law enforcement officers engage in abusive behaviours against civilians despite their duty to ensure the public’s safety the weak in our society more prone to victimisation from police Social Conflict Theory state that the police function as an instrument of the dominant class, white and rich Government institutions, including police departments, are

Sociology is the function of the human society, and social problems among us. There are three different theories that I will be discussing in this essay. The theories are symbolic interactionism, The conflict theory and functional analysis perspectives. These perspectives help make up the way society thinks as a whole. All three of these perspectives are alike, as much as they are different.

The Marxist's perspective is dominantly based on economic factors and over emphasizes them; money is assumed to be everything within society and social life. In my view, something is clearly missing here such as values and other social factors. Assuming that money is everything within society leads to assumptions that those owning the productive and therefore economic resources are given the power and use it to control those without to maintain their hegemony. Further factors that can form and shape society like gender, ethnicity, age, culture etc. are not taken into consideration and neglected. Hence the Marxist perspective focuses on having versus not having, earning versus not earning and powerful versus powerless.

In addition too, Symbolic Interactionism perspectives, there is Functionalism Perspective. The idea of the Functionalist perspective leads back to Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist whose writings form the core of the functionalist theory (McClelland, 2000). Functionalism is what happens when social structures have positive effects on the constancy of society. It is the frame work for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote harmony and stability. There are also three assumptions behind functionalism theory, Stability, Harmony, and Evolutions. Those who use social structure theory focus on studying the nature and the consequences of social structures. It also focuses on a relatively state pattern of social behavior. This gives our lives shape in

Sociology studies the various relationships and functioning in the human society using different perspectives. One of them is the functionalism perspective. This viewpoint argues that all social institutions in the society are

George Herbert Mead studied and used an interactionist approach for many years. He was a philosophy professor at the university of Chicago. Mead thought that the true test to any theory is whether or not it is useful in solving complex social problems (EM Griffin, p.83). So Mead decided to study the procedures of communicating, specifically with symbols, the theory was titled Symbolic Interactionism.

Functionalist and Marxist are macro sociological theories that give a better understanding of the society. Functionalist theory is referred to as the consensus whilst the Marxist theory is known as the conflict theory. Key features of both theories are going to be identified and discussed.