Functionalism And Anomie: Poor Jewish European Robert Merton

Sociology is the study the different aspects of humanity and society. It encompasses a very broad and varying range of topics. It can be studied on a large world-wide scale spanning across several countries, which is called Macrosociology. It can also be studied on a small scale looking at only individual families or neighborhoods, which is called Microsociology. Not only does it peer into humans’ interactions with each other but examines why they act the way they do. It considers the environment, as well as how access to different luxuries can contribute to the people that we become. In this fascinating field there are three primary views on exactly what the fundamental driving force behind society is. Symbolic Interactionalism, the belief that symbols and the meaning that they are given, define how we will perceive life, in this philosophy these meanings are influenced by society and the events of individual lives. Functional Analysis, views society as any other organism, in this theory all parts of the whole must work together cohesively to function. Conflict theory takes a somewhat opposite view than Functionalism, this perspective suggests that rather than wanting to work in unison, society’s underlying motive is a power struggle for resources. Over the course of this paper the reader will explore these different perspectives.

Reading the articles “From Beyond Outrage” by Robert B. Reich, and “A Tangle of Pathology to a Race-Fair America” by Alan Aja. Daniel Bustillo, William Darity Jr., and Darrick Hamilton, made me comprehend additional perspectives about class, ethnic groups, and education to our examination of success. Specifically, the way “A Tangle of Pathology to a Race-Fair America” explains its point of views, and the facts that it provides makes the reader fully understand how race has affected employment throughout the years. Black families were trapped in the Tangle of Pathology; representing how they had, and still continue to have, extremely low benefits and advantages compared to the whites. Race, class and education have a powerful connection, since

Theories have been composed and exposed by various philosophers to clarify their reasoning about the mind. Dualism, Behaviorism, and Identity Theory, are well-known theories supported by well-written explanations. A modern theory, Functionalism provides ample insight to the main problem philosophers deal with, the mind/body problem.

In sociology, functionalism is one of the main theoretical perspective. The father of the sociology Emile Durkheim was the promoter of functionalism. Functionalism mainly focusing on the stability and order of the society. This gives a variety of elaboration about the society or human behaviour. All the parts of the theoretical perspectives connected and influenced each other, this all works together in maintain the society healthy. All of these parts depends one to another, if one of the parts not working properly, that will affect all the system or that all circles.

For example, in an article titled “Inequality, Race, and Remedy” for The American Prospect, Alan Jenkins states “Poor people of color are also increasingly more likely than whites to find themselves living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited resources and limited options” (Jenkins). This illustrates that an individual’s race can completely affect their home, job, financial situation, and overall way of life. According to this article, person of color has a higher chance at living in poverty than a white person does. This example shows that colored people aren’t given as many opportunities and as a result, it may be harder for them to succeed in life. The oppression they face is all because of the color of their skin, not because they are any less smart or human than others. The poor lifestyle is a result of racial identification and false labeling. People automatically stereotype and judge black people because of their skin color and often times it has a negative outcome.

During a group discussion with my peers, someone told me that the only reason that Texas Tech admitted me was because of the color of my skin and that Tech had to meet a certain quota. However, being African American ultimately made me fight even harder to prove that my hard work was not based on the idea that someone owed me something. Shelby Steele an author, professor and a speaker on race relations, relates to me through his essay titled “The New Sovereignty.” Steele grew up in the Civil Rights Era and witnessed oppression, but he believes that oppression has led to entitlement. In the essay he explains that America has encouraged, instead of breaking down, the notion that grievance groups and minority groups feel entitled because of previous

Many white Americans are living with the fear that they didn't really deserve their success, and that maybe luck and privilege had more to do with it, than brains and hard work. There are numerous reasons for the widespread discrimination at all levels, but the main reason for the existence of discrimination is a privilege to certain groups of people, and widespread social prejudice towards certain groups of people. Differences between people have always existed, but they gain in importance only when are different importance given to certain differences, so it creates privileges. People who are privileged in one society are often not aware of their privilege. It is very easy to be oblivious to the privilege. The problem of discrimination

By associating the potential existence of racism with consumption, a form of rationalization is that we now live in society that does not recognize and reward race, but merit. In turn, whites do not inherently realize the privileges that they are born with. Peggy McIntosh actually used the terms unearned entitlement and unearned advantage to describe disproportionate lead that whites have over blacks (McIntosh, 103). The fact of the matter is that most white people are in denial that they have been born with unearned entitlements that minorities do not have and according to McIntosh this is because they have been taught not to recognize it. As much as white people have been taught not to recognize that they have been given white privilege, blacks and minorities recognize that they do. Although many believe that the playing field is now level, is apparent that there is an uphill struggle for people of color. But how should one first recognize this struggle?

“Some employers used tests for hiring or promotion that screened out African American at a higher rate than white applicants, making it nearly impossible for them to be hired in any substantial numbers” (Vertreace, 2010). In many cases white supervisors or managers would make sure they interview just enough minorities so they want to appear not to be bias toward other races. They even pretend to follow company’s rules, but instead they make their own rules and dare someone to cross them. Nevertheless, there are not enough opportunities for black people to advance. If the only available jobs are low-income jobs, then the chance of living in poverty will continue for minorities.

Another obstacle in eliminating racism, according to sociologist Nancy DiTomaso’s research, is white nepotism, which is the idea that favoritism –not meritocracy—might be why whites are most successful in the employment arena, as they are able to use an expansive network of friends and family to find their jobs and build careers. This contradicts the widely held belief that white people have prospered because they are the most hard working of the racial

Tony Sansone also said that "They don't want to move up... Like when 5 p.m. comes, everybody punches out and goes home and I'm saying "what else do you need done?" (Lamont, 2003, pg. 37), but once again Sansone talks of how black people are working the minimum while him, a white man, attempts to do extra. Sansone continues to talk bad about how black people do not put in the efforts they should be to achieve better in life, but it is possible that these black men are leaving the work place to continue working hard at their second work places. Sansone is stereotyping black men with claims that might apply to some black men, but also apply equally as much to white men. Sansone is using these stereotypes to empower his own self worth by claiming a stereotype then saying that he does more than them. Sansone claims that he is a better, harder, more dedicated working than black men because he has more self worth, but he is only thinking about his retirement in a few years. Someone who and dislikes his job, and only hopes for his retirement to be soon probably won't work as hard, and does not want to move up in society either. Tony Sansone is not the only American example used to prove that racism is about more than color.

Functionalism is a consensus perspective, whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists, society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy, religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions.

Functionalism is seen as a macro-scale approach to society; it sees society as a whole rather than looking at parts of it. Due to this, functionalism sees society as a body (organic analogy), all the institutions work together to make society. This is particularly useful when observing society in order to understand the way in which it functions and the way in which all the institutions (organic analogy: organs within the body) work together to sustain society as a whole. Functionalism being a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole.

As many minorities seek to attain wealth and status in America they are strained to leave any cultural or traditional ways behind closed doors when they enter into the workplace. Many do this to avoid being excluded, and as an attempt to become more equal to other fellow work colleagues, also many feel that white "supremacy" still exists- even in a subtle way. Nonetheless, once one accomplishes such a difficult task, the obstacle of earning a substantial income to maintain a decent standard of living is still a grueling task. According to Professor Harris, a teacher of political science at San Jose State University, approximately 60% of jobs in America are obtained through personal relationships and associations. This notion demonstrates that because many non-minority groups own businesses, and they tend to hire relatives and the like -many minorities are often excluded from attaining the "better" position within a company, and because many minority families we not able to leave a legacy for their family members to carry on, many minorities often miss out on opportunities to also be able to create a legacy that can continue to thrive- and the cycle continues.

Functionalist theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It can be argued that the functionalist theory has made a significant contribution to the study of society. It originates from the work of Emile Durkheim who suggests that social order is possible and society remains stable due to the functioning of several institutions. Everything has a specific function in society and society will always function in harmony. The main institutions studied by functionalism are the family, the education system, religion and crime and deviance.