Talcott Parsons Contribution Of Social System Theory

Three of the most widely used theoretical approaches used by sociologists are the functionalist, conflict, and interactionists perspectives. Functionalists highlight the contributions made by society that lead to social stability. Talcott Parsons, a key figure in the development of functionalist theory, viewed society as of a vast network of connected parts, each of which helps to maintain the system as a whole (Schaefer 2015). Conflict theorists take the approach that social behavior is understood in terms of tension between competing groups over power or the allocation of resources. Interactionist explain society by generalizing about the everyday forms of social interaction in places such as work, parks, or in public places. Functionalist and conflict approaches to the study of society focus on large scale phenomena or entire civilizations, or macrosociology, while the interactionist approach focuses on microsociology which stresses the study of small groups (Schaefer 2015). Functionalists reason that individuals are socialized to perform certain societal functions. However, conflict theorists consider that individuals are socialized by power of authoritative groups. In the interactionist view, individuals are shaped by their everyday interaction within small groups. Social order is maintained through cooperation and overall consensus in the functionalist’s perspective; laws are created to reinforce social order. Similarly, interactionists believe social order is

In society, there are groups that interact with each other. They may be families, churches, government agencies, or anything in between. Those groups can be defined as systems, and in the systems perspective that is what they are referred to (Hutchison, 2017). In the 1960s, Ludwig von Bertalanffy developed the general systems theory in relation to biology, but it was widely publicized and used for various subjects (Hutchison, 2017). Hutchison (2017) summarized Bertalanffy’s theory by saying, “any element is best understood by considering its interactions with its constituent parts as well as its interactions with larger systems of which it is a part.” (p.

The functionalist perspective is useful for understanding social structures and institutions and how they influence behaviour. Many social issues and successes have been linked to social structures. Take for instance the family function of primary socialization which Parsons pointed out as key in society as it internalizes society’s culture in an individual as well as structures their personality. For example if a person has committed some sort of heinous crime, investigators would usually look at their family life to determine how much it would have influences the person to commit such an act.

A system is “A set of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole” (robbins 2006), and Systems theory is the

“..the System includes the Situation, but it is more enduring, more widespread, involving extensive networks of people, their expectations, norms, policies, and, perhaps, laws. Over time, Systems come to have a historical foundation and sometimes also a political and economic power structure that governs and directs the behavior of many people within its sphere of influence. Systems are the engines that run situations that create behavioral contexts that influence the human action of those under their control. At some point, the System may become an autonomous entity, independent of those who initially started it or even those in apparent authority within its power structure. Each System

Parsons contributed to the development of functionalism, as he saw society as a system made up of linking establishments which played a role in the smooth running and continuity. He also said that the main role of an institution was for

There are other theories that build on Merton’s work, but they focus on the position of groups in the social structure rather than just on individuals, and how these groups adapt in different ways to the strain facing them in achieving social goals.

A social system is a special order of systems… composed of persons or groups of persons who interact and influence each other’s behavior. “Within this order can be included persons families, organizations, communities, societies, and cultures” (Robbins, Chatterjee & Canda, 2011). The systems theory allows us to examine the focal system from a micro, meso, or macro perspective. Keeping all of the individual systems autonomous, while still being able to conceptualize the interrelatedness of the systems together.

In order to bring clarity on the subject, Weber identified and classified four different types of ‘social action’: ‘Traditional’, ‘Affective’, ‘Value-rational’ and finally ‘Instrumental-rational’. The traditional can be characterized by force of habit; an individual performs acts that

Inequality comes in many forms, expressed through viewing wage gaps between men and women and between races in the terms of the conflict theory. As Karl Marx expressed through the conflict theory, every citizen in a society is struggling to gain access to resources. This competition exists not only between classes, but within each class as every person strives to make their life and decedents’ lives better. In an excerpt from “Manifesto of the Communist Party,” the authors express thoughts that through the

Born in 1818, Marx grew up as the world watched the aftermath of the French Revolution unfold. It’s not surprising that in a feudal society, where social mobility was limited and there were scant opportunities for fulfilling work, that a grand shift in the reach of industry, and capitalism, would have a profound impact on a young Karl Marx. At the core of his work is an emphasis on power relations and class conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat – it was Marx’s belief that society remained in a state of conflict as a result of competition for limited resources, and that social order was achieved through domination by the ruling class, rather than through democracy and/or conformity; this was characterised by the division of labour, and the consequential exploitation of the working class. This earned Marx his title as a conflict theorist, as well as a reputation as a

A strength of the functionalist theory is that it a macro level structural theory which uses an organic analogy- using the body as a way to describe the different parts within society. Parsons identifies three similarities; System, System Needs and Functions. The System being organisms such as the human body, and society which fit together in fixed ways. For example in the

Talcott Parsons, a functionalist sociologist who elaborated on Durkheim’s work about society and its functions, claimed that society is like an organism, in particular, the human body. He argued that all institutions, such as the family and the education system, within society function together to maintain society just as the organs within a human body work together to maintain life. In particular, Parsons identified three similarities between the human body and society; he claimed that they were both systems within themselves – all the parts of a body and the institutions within society fit together in fixed ways. He also identified that these ‘systems’ have needs – the human body needs nutrition to help it sustain life, whereas society needs adequate socialisation in order for society to continue functioning in the way that it does. Parsons also stated that both the human body and society have functions – the functions of the systems within the human body ensure that the body’s needs are meet thus maintaining life; whereas, in society, the economy functions to maintain the social system. As parsons’ analogy helps sociologists to better understand the way in which institutions in society work

T. Parsons is probably the most important functionalist theorist of socialization. Parsons believe that through the socialization process, the individual is able to internalize society's values and these values then becomes a part of their personality. Through socialization, individuals are able to take on aspects of society's culture, their behavior becomes largely predictable and they contribute to the maintenance of social order. The family is seen as the most important agent in the socialization process, so it is classified as a primary group. However, Professor Alvin Gouldner believes that T. Parsons underestimated the

Human societies have been class based in some way and the class factor has been the most basic dividing or differentiating factor between broad social groups. In the economic sphere that Marx’s theory focuses on, there is a class that own and control means of economic production which could be referred to as the upper class, and there is the class that maybe own nothing, but their ability to sell their labor power in return for wages which could be referred to as the middle or low class. From that understanding, and based on the conflict theory, one might argue that unequal distribution of resources and access