Structural-Conflict Theory: Similarities And Differences Of Social Poverty

Poverty is a multifaceted issue, it is dependent on many factors and the ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work. Out of all the possible explanations as to why people are still living in poverty in the U.S., the structural view of poverty covers the most bases. The structural view of poverty explains that poverty can only ‘be understood and explained only with reference to political and economic characteristics of the society’ (Kerbo, p.266). With this in mind, this theory considers the position of the poor in the occupational structure. Since the poor have jobs that require low skill, which means anyone can learn how to do them, there is much more competition for such jobs. Those with jobs that require greater skills, such as doctors,

Structural Functionalism aims to understand society in an objective way. It views society as an entity that is “objectively real”. It emphasizes the unity of society, and how individuals perform roles and how these roles are vital in meeting the needs of the collective whole. For instance, because every society has stratification, stratification must have certain functions and these functions can contribute to the survival of the social system as a whole. Furthermore, structural

Sociologists for centuries have debated the structure by which society evolves. Theories are tested to explain the changes by which society operates. Structural functionalism and conflict theory are the main viewpoints sociologists use to evaluate the changes in the habits of society. Mass incarceration is an example of social phenomenon. Mass incarceration can be viewed as a structural functionalism or a conflict theory. I believe the influences that have created today’s society are dependent on the view of the individual and decisions and actions they take.

Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak.

A sociological imagination is the idea of how a personal experience can affect society as a whole. At some point a personal issue becomes a public issue. Conflict theory is the idea of competition over limited resources such as money. The theory is about domination and power rather than peace and cooperation. Those with power and wealth try to maintain that position by suppressing those without. The United States poverty is most easily explained by the conflict theory because in the US, the wealthy stay wealthy and the poor stay poor due to suppression.

The structural-functionalist perspective states that “poverty results from institutional breakdown” (Mooney et al. 176). People in today’s society do not have the skills or education needed for employment. The majority of those living in poverty are people who are willing to do the “dirty work” than those not living in poverty. It can be assumed that those living in low income homes are the one who are going to do the hard labor such as being a maid, gardener, janitor, etc., when it comes to being in the workforce. They are the people that are willing to do these jobs just to make ends meet. Many living in poverty are also single parents. “A third of all families headed by a single woman were in poverty last year” (Gongloff). Another issue is the unequal pay in the workplace today. There are many factors that come in to

Theories are meant to explain an unknown phenomena. Scientific laws are statements or equations that accurately describes a recurring process. Grand theories explain large-scale relationships why societies form and change. Micro-level theories explain small-scale relationships between individuals or small groups. There are three main theoretical perspectives in sociology, which are functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism. They all attempt to explain how society functions through ideals that have formulated to be true. And, for each perspective, the ideas are different and conflicting, but they attempt to explain society. Functionalists see society as an integrated system of cogs that are all relevant to the constant progression of society. If an outside social force effects one, it will halt all the other parts. Functionalism encourages stability, and dysfunction cause instability. There are two types of social functions; manifest and latent. Manifest function is the intended or anticipated effects that a part has on the existing social order. Latent function is the unintended or unanticipated effects that a part has on the existing social order. Conflict theory tries to explain society through instability. A conflict theorist looks at

Poverty is not easily defined, because it plays out in many different ways. To be in poverty, one is generally making at most three times the amount of money they would need to sustain themselves and their family members living a minimalist lifestyle. These families tend to eat cheaper food, use public transport, have less access to good educational institutions, are exposed to harmful environments, and have less access to healthcare, among many other things. Through the lenses of conflict theory and functionalism, one can begin to understand why poverty so affects many aspects many people’s lives in ways that carry them through adulthood, and sometimes pervades later generations of their families.

Identify the four major sociological theoretical paradigms. For each, what are the key tenets? How does each explain how society works?

One sociological perspective is the Functionalist theory. Functionalism is one of the earliest sociological theories. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a professor and was interested in how society was possible and how society remains stable. This theory focuses on the macro-level of social structure rather than micro-level of everyday life. Functionalism sees society in parts which form a system, the parts depend on each other. Functionalist theory looks at the parts of society such as

What are the three major sociology perspectives in regards to social issues? They are Symbolic Interactionism perspectives, Functionalism perspectives, and Conflict Theory perspectives. These perspectives offer sociologists abstract examples for explaining how society affects people, and vice versa. Each perspective individually theorizes society, social forces, and human behavior.

Sociological Perspectives and Theories Sociologists try to explain how society orders itself but there are many different theories for this, which often conflict with one another. Some of these classic theories include Marxism, Functionalism, and Interactionism. There are also more modern or contemporary theories such as Feminism. Each sociological perspective has different beliefs.

Conflict theory simply means that more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with less power and the money is the mechanism which creates social disorder. Yesterday, I read a news about how so many kids are dying due to malnutrition in Yemen. I read some comments to see what people are thinking and what can be done about it? One comment said “if they cannot feed their kids they should stop having children and the problem will be solved”. Really, is that a solution, is it moms fault that their kids are hungry in a world that there is enough food for the entire population yet most people are hungry. She does not get hunger is caused by poverty and inequality, not scarcity. What that person who made the comment and many others who have the same perspective do not know is that inequality perpetuated because it benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and “capitalism is the core of inequality and suffering” (lecture). And as you said in the lecture notes many people cannot see “how capitalistic system shapes all of society” that and blames the individuals for the suffering as in the example that I gave above. I also believe many of us know the consequences of capitalism but still continue to blame the individuals rather than taking an action, be an ally or rather than supporting those who suffer at least by making a supportive comment on the social media.

The functionalism theory is also known as structural functionalism and lays claim on the fact that the society is composed of interdependent portions each of which adds to the functioning of the whole society. Functionalists break

“The reasons poverty rates remain high despite the [economic] recovery has to do with wage decline and failure of the “safety net” i.e, the government systems of taxes and transfers designed