SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION TO MY BLOG

In summary, throughout this blog I have explained the main sociological perspectives. I have used pictures and examples to make it more understandable. For example I have used the example of the human body to explain the meaning of functionalism because, as the organs in our body, every citizen in society has a function to carry out. I have also used examples from our everyday life. For example to be clearer about the explanation of Marxism, a conflict perspective, I have looked at an article from a newspaper stating that women working for certain factory in Bangladesh are being exploited by the ruling class. Another conflict perspective was feminism which moderately, is not sexism or the belief that women are better than men but that men and women should have equal opportunities in life regardless of gender.

I have also looked at two perspectives that are the opposite from each other. These are collectivism and New Right. Collectivism supports that we should all help each other and contribute to each other’s well being in order to benefit everyone and that is where the idea of the Welfare System comes from, on the other hand, New Right does not support this idea because they support that they should get everyone to help themselves. This means that they have a more individualistic idea that mainly looks form one’s benefit. A sociological perspective that was

Post-modernism is another sociological perspective but in this case is the only one developed after Modernism (19^th-20^th Century). It states that modernism was an era where there were clears and well structured social institutions; however, nowadays none of the sociological perspectives developed during modernism is applicable to the present.

And finally, interactionism which is also different from the other perspectives as it is a more “practical” perspective of society because it does not look at how society affects a group of individuals but at how each individual can change society through interactions.

Even though I have mainly focused in the explanation of the sociological perspectives I have also looked at some terminologies of sociology that were essential in order to understand the sociological perspectives. 

To continue to the second part of my Unit 7 you can follow this link where you will find P2: Explain different sociological approaches to health and ill health. 

Thank you for reading.

Sociological perspectives: Functionalism (P1)

This perspective can be compared to the human body. All organs have a different function within the body, some have greater roles than others but they are all necessary and important in order for the body to function properly. In the same way, for a community to have social consensus or agreement they should all share the same values and work together for the same goal and purpose. This way the community will function effectively. Also, as every organ in the body, every citizen is important and even though they can have different roles within society they are all essential.

For example, if the Educational System does not provide effective tutoring and training for the students this will affect other parts of society such as the Health Care System because there will not be enough professional in the future to run these organizations and provide health care to the citizens.

Sociological Perspectives: Collectivism (P1)

This is a perspective that is totally opposite to the perspective I have looked at in the last post. Collectivism supports that community should come together to help each other so that there can be good outcomes for everyone. The UK government is supporting collectivism since 1906 by establishing benefits to the elderly (pensions), free school meals to the students and other benefits for the ones in more need.

Thanks to the welfare state the most vulnerable ones in the UK can get benefits. E.g. people with disabilities get Disability Living Allowance, the ones whom are unemployed can get the Job Seekers Allowance, the ones whom are not able to work due to illness or other health circumstances can get the Statutory Sick Pay, the ones whom are homeless or are not able to rent or buy a house due to their economic circumstances can be provided with a council house from the government.

Sociological perspectives: New Right (P1)

This perspective, supported and first suggested by Margaret Thatcher, indicates that “the state should play as small a role as possible in welfare provision” (Stretch.B and Whitehouse.M, P.319) This means that in order to get individuals to be less dependent from the welfare state the government should not provide them economic help, instead, these citizens should fend for themselves and this will be a first step to eliminate this dependency culture.

Mrs Thatcher and other New Right supporters also believe that “the welfare state produced a society which people relied on state benefits rather than planning for the future and taking responsibilities for their own needs and those of their families

Sociological perspectives: Post-modernism (P1)

Post modernism states that Modernism (19^th-20^th Century) was an era where there were clears and well structured social institutions and the “rules” were followed by most of the citizens. However, nowadays, sociological perspectives such as feminism or Marxism are not longer describing reality so they are not valid because there are not large scale social structures.

For example, during the 19^th there was not a very distinct difference between the working class and the ruling class because there were not a lot of choices so they could have similar facilities. Now there also other factors to look at when considering an individual from the ruling class or from the working class such as the car they drive, where they eat, the friends they have and the difference between  a “rich” and a “poor” person is huge.

The reason behind this is because people have become more individualistic during postmodernism and instead of working for a common aim that would benefit everyone they work for their own and beneficial aims.

Another example could be that the rules, norms and traditional values considered important and undeniable during modernism are now being questioned or not longer followed by most of the people. For example, having sex before marriage was not acceptable during modernism, however, nowadays it is more common to have sexual intercourse before marring.

Sociological perspectives: Interactionism (P1)

This perspective, unlike the ones I looked at in the last posts, looks at society in a different way. For example, Marxism is looking at how the working class as a group is being exploited by the ruling class as a group. Instead, interactionism looks at how “small groups influence individual behaviour and shape society”(Stretch.B and Whitehouse.M, P.316). In other words, Interactionism is a more “practical” perspective of society because it does not look at how society affects a group of individuals but at how each individual can change society through interactions.

For example, interactionist would not be concerned about the health and social care system itself. Instead they will focus on how the relationship between doctors and patients can be improved in order to provide a better service.

Interactionism is not a generalized theory. This means that it does not assign individuals into a group or institution from society because they have something in common. For example, feminism supports that women are being dominated by men. Even though not every woman is being dominated by men they look at society as a set of structured institutions instead of as a set of different individuals, in this case women, whom have different circumstances.

Conflict perspectives: Feminism (P1)

Some people confuse feminism with the idea of sexism. Instead, feminism is not the belief that women are better than men but supports that men and women should have equal opportunities in life. Feminism is a sociological perspective supported by women who aim to end the exploitation of women by men in every aspect of life. This includes equal education and employment for women and men. Feminists are opponents to patriarchal societies, where men have power over women and make all the decisions. In such a society women have not got voice or vote.  

 There are three main forms of feminism:

Radical feminism: supports that women are better than men and are capable to live without men which means that they do not need men at all. They fight against patriarchy and instead support matriarchy societies where they will be able to lead men and have all the authority over men.

Marxist feminism: very influenced by the perspective of Karl Marx of equality. Supports that women and men should have equal opportunities however, women, especially working class women, are being exploited. Marxist feminists also have a more revolutionary attitude towards archiving their aims. Their aims are to play a greater role within society. Instead of being the men’s helpers they want be leaders and make the decisions along with them.

Liberal feminism: liberal feminist support that society has changed and that women are now playing a better role within society. They also believe that legislations such as the Equal Pay Act (1970) and the Sex Discrimination Act (1975) has helped to improve and will continue improving the situation of women.

Conflict perspectives: Marxism (P1)

Karl Marx was a German revolutionary socialist whom believed that society is based upon a conflict between the bourgeoisie (ruling class), which is the people in society who has more power and authority, and the proletarians (working class), which are the ones that work for the ruling class. The ruling class includes people who own factories and big business and the working class includes people who work for these big companies. Karl Marx also believed that the ones in the less dominant class are being exploited by the ruling class.

Marx was an opponent of capitalism societies, where whom have more money are the ones whom have more authority and power. He suggested that the working class could unite and fight for equality and confront people from the dominant class so that they will be able to have equal opportunities. This is called a social revolution and its aim is to achieve a communist society where everyone will be able to receive the same benefits and services and will also get involved in the economic, politic and social system regardless of how much capital they have.

This means that Karl Marx was aiming to see a society where everyone will be able to have a good quality of services including health and social care services. He would also agree with the idea that everyone deserves to receive good education and have the opportunity of becoming a professional in life. However, people from the ruling class had private medical care and they received a much better education than proletarians because they control the health and social care system and the educational system which is also designed by them.

Even though Marx’s perspective about society is encouraging and gives a hope to the working class some people critiques it and think that it could be too unrealistic. Others think that he puts too much emphasis in the social class inequality but forgets about gender or racial inequality. People can also consider that his perspective is outdated and that the working class is now getting more power over their own society. However it is proved that in many underdeveloped countries exploitation is still present.

In Bangladesh many women are being exploited. An example of it are these Bangladeshi women who work for a garments factory. The article “Bangladesh’s garment workers face exploitation, but is it slavery?” published in The Guardian said that “the workers are not just exploited and forced to work in an environment of harassment, violence and abuse, but where basic guarantees of safety have been thrown to the wind, where corners have been cut to the extent that a building can collapse on top of thousands of workers.”

What are sociological perspectives? (P1)

Because the study of society is very extensive and complex people have different views and opinions about it. These views are called perspectives. Perspectives can be a source of conflict because not everyone will agree with some of them, especially when a group of individuals within society are criticized. When this is the case the perspective is called conflict theory or conflict perspective. Marxism and feminism are two conflict perspectives. Other sociological perspectives are functionalism , interactionism,  post-modernism, collectivism and New Right.

I will explain all this perspectives though the next posts.

Sociological terminologies: Values and Beliefs (P1)

Values are one’s judgement of what is important in life. Depending on the society you have been raised in, you may have different values. For example in some families they give more importance to money and work than to share time with the family, however in other families they prefer to maybe just conform with the necessary to live and have more time to dedicate to the family life.

Beliefs are something one accepts as true or real. The culture we have been raised in is a factor that usually affects our beliefs. For example, in a Latin American culture most people believe in God and consider themselves Catholics or Christians. In the other hand, in an eastern culture the most predominant religions are Hinduism and Buddhism.