The Habermas And Immanuel Wallerstein View Society

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

In order to understand the entirety of a society, we must first understand each part and how it contributes to the stability of the society. According to the functionalist

In this sense, society relies on the reciprocal relations of humans. Society is derived from these reciprocal interactions and does not precede them. Society operates through our refraction and manifests through our actions. (Simmel) Building off a traditional Hobbesian view, human society is distinct from a ‘personal’ phase, rather it is deeply socially constructed. Society consists of interrelated activities in which humans can act in accordance with each other as well as against each other. Society is not a collection of individual humans nor a system of institutions. For Weber, society is in the interactions, not in the institutions. Society generates norms and values which influence human conduct, which is constantly being built through interaction. From the symbolic interaction perspective, there is no moral judgment placed on interaction.

These institutions and social relationship structures, to remain, put in place hierarchies of power, which evolves with a stint of inequality. As systematic means of maintaining order in such society may necessitate the need for control via force or putting in place an ideology. Thus controlling the way the specific society sees the world and current social relationships appearing natural, normative and inevitable.

This text, not just a product of the intellectual musings of an armchair philosopher, was born out of a culmination of extraneous events and systems that were prevalent at the time of its conception.

Zygmunt Bauman is the writer and author of consuming life and liquid modernity. He is among the pioneering founders of the post-modernism theory that is characteristic of most theories in sociology and philosophy. The concepts and positions posited by Baunam will be heavily relied upon in the composition of this essay – albeit subject to diverse opinions in analysis and with reliance of critique that is presented from various avenues such as contradictory theories to those of the author. In consuming life, Bauman asserts that consumerism has surpassed the mundane quality of consumption. This means that human advancement has led to the quintessential disorder where consumerism coerces humans into lukewarm and superficial meeting of needs and desires, as opposed to consumption which was individualistic in nature and self-gratifying. Individuality is the opposite of consumerism. Bauman attests that desires and life of worth can be attained only from egoistic search of satisfaction. However, individualistic system and egoism cannot push societies to prosperity and advancement. Insofar as consumerism contorts human culture and introduces dangers of ideology and religion, it is only through consumerism that advances in humanity and advancement that man can utilize ideologies such as capitalism, laissez faire conditions, international trade, diplomacy, and other diverse attributes in transforming human culture.

Structural functionalism is a macro level approach to study sociology (Browning, 2015). Structural functionalists believe social consensus is what holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill it’s own needs, but dependent on all other structures for survival (Vago, 2012).

According to Habermas, man should be autonomous from the state and the civil society, but he feels that public-ness is degenerating due to the advent of the mass media. Mass media gives higher priority to profitability

Human nature and its relevance in determining behaviors, predictions, and conclusions has caused dispute among philosophers throughout the ages. Political philosophy with its emphasis on government legitimacy, justice, laws, and rights guided the works of the 17th and 18th century philosophical writings of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Through Thomas Hobbes world-renowned publication Leviathan and Rousseau’s discourses on basic political principals and concepts, each man validated their thoughts on human nature and what is required for a successful society within their respective government confines. The distinct differences between Hobbes and Rousseau’s opinions on the natural state of man frame the argument of the different

Through analyzing the written works of Max Weber’s Types of Legitimate Domination and Bureaucracy to C. Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination, the writings of the comparative authors reveal the domination of power in a socially constructed society and the way that individuals are influenced by the constructed hierarchy of power. Through sociological analysis, these concepts can be applied to the ways individuals are continuously influenced through socially constructed institutions in a society where individuals constantly interact with one another. As Mills and Weber apply sociological analysis to the context of their observations, they are able to observe the growing positive and negative influences that ultimately shape the

Functionalists argue that societies consist of inter-related social institutions such as schools, mass media, political systems, the Church and the family each of which contribute positively to the maintenance of stability of society as a whole. Broadly speaking it is assumed by functionalists that societies operate in the interests of all of their members so that there is no reason for fundamental conflict in society. Instead there is a high degree of consensus that societies are organised efficiently and relatively fairly.

According to Habermas, man should be autonomous from the state and the civil society, but he feels that public-ness is degenerating due to the advent of the mass media. Mass media gives higher priority to

Structural Functionalism is “A major sociological perspective that views society as an interdependent system of parts (structures) and purposes (functions) that work together to make a society operate (Larkin, 2015)”. In order for a society to work all parts of the same society must work together. In structural functionalism society nearly depends on one another to stay afloat. If Something changes it can causes a disruption in society and begins to make things become unbalanced. Functionalism focuses on many groups that make up society, for example Government, Judiciary, and religion are some of the key groups that benefits in society strengthening their social relationships and the very world humans live in.

Immanuel Wallerstein (1930-) is a famous American historian, sociologist, and political scientist. His radicalism and his bold and pragmatic critique of capitalism have made him become the representative in social sciences field. (Wang Zhengyi. 2000) Owing to the obvious origins of his writing and Marxist theory, and the continuation of a large number of terms in Marxism, such as capital, relations of production, and class, Wallerstein is also regarded as the representative of the new Marxist school.

Frank W. Elwell (2006) offered readers a compelling introduction to Immanuel Wallerstein’s World-Systems Theory. His overview of the theory challenged readers to take on a much broader perspective when analyzing sociocultural systems, as opposed to other narrow, micro views that are emphasized by many undergraduate texts and contemporary social scientists. In contrast from other perspectives that emphasize the analysis of individual societies, Wallerstein seemed to offer a novel, fresh approach by considering the complex interactions between nation-states or societies on a worldwide scale (p. 73). According to Elwell, Wallerstein’s contributions to macrosociology have been made with the intention of promoting radical change to the ways in which social sciences operate as a whole. Wallerstein argued that states, groups, and organizations endure within a vast and complex legal, political, and economic framework (p. 73). Wallerstein referred to these wide-ranging frameworks as world-systems. In many class discussions, the importance of understanding the relationship between an individual’s context and the individual has been heavily reiterated. This is because related considerations are vital when attempting to understand and study human behavior from various micro perspectives. Seemingly, Wallerstein’s approach appeared to extend upon the previous concept by asserting that individual societies and nation-states cannot be fully understood without carefully considering how they