Question

The idea that social inequality is harmful and divides society is associated with

a. structural-functional approach
b. social-conflict approach
c. symbolic-interaction approach
d. social-exchange approach

i know c and d will not be the ans. but why it is a social conflict approach?

Answer 1

Social-conflict is something that was largely championed by Karl Marx.
http://www.qvctc.commnet.edu/brian/soc/sld010.htm

A lot of people put all of Communism on Marx, but that is an incorrect thing to do. Marx largely wrote a lot of social theory, of which social-conflict was his core idea. This did include ideas on communism, but not in the way it was actually used. Then Lenin and Stalin came to power. They took what Marx had done and really pushed hard with it, changing it as they went, to make what was known as Soviet Communism.

Now, if you think about that communist system and how it relates to social-conflict theory, you can see how this became a major social theory that is still taught today.

Answer 2

Oh, and if you want a more modern example, look at the Occupy Wall Street movement in the USA. A group of largely out of work and disgruntled people (lower class) used assorted forms of social unrest to attack Wall Street (upper class.) This is exactly the sort of conflict that Marx was talking about.

Answer 3

i see what social conflict means and i totally get Marx's idea of an ideal country but why "social inequality is harmful and divides the society" belongs to social conflict but not structural functional? i know "social inequality" usually appears in social conflict approach but when it comes to "harming and dividing" the society, isn't it belongs to structural functional?

Answer 4

This is the Sparknotes definition "Structural functionalist theory - A sociological view of society as a complex unit made up of interrelated parts. Sociologists who apply this theory study social structure and social function."

You should have something similar in your book. Now, where that comes to play is in things like deviance:
http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/deviance/section3.rhtml

See, social conflict, to a limited extent, is seen as a bit of a positive force in structural functional. This is not all of social conflict, but small sub parts like deviance. It is seen as a needed part of driving other aspects of the functional system. This is completely different from social conflict theory where conflict is only seen as negative and deviance is seen as a major problem.

Answer 5

so you're saying the conflicts serve a particular function in structural functional approach whereas the social conflict approach views conflicts as a problem?

Answer 6

Yes. Conflicts, to a limited degree, serve a particular function in structural functional. Obviously, if it gets to the point where nothing is working they have gone to far, but it is seen as a part of the overall system. And that is very different from what Marx was saying.

Answer 7

Also, the question asks about social inequality. In Marx's social conflict theory, that is seen as a destructive force. In structural functional, class differences are seen as a goal. If you are in the lower class you strive to get to the upper class.

Both theories can be used to help explain any situation, but the results of the viewpoint are different. This is why social inequality is seen differently by social conflict and structural functional theories.

Answer 8

i see, thanks for the detailed explanation!

Answer 9

No problem. I had to go over all this for sociology.

SparkNotes used to have a free set of SparkCharts in PDF that they gave away. One was intro to sociology and it covered a lot of this stuff. I don't know if they are still giving that away.

Answer 10

i see, cus I'm having an introduction course but i think the lecturer didn't really explain things clearly so ya, i'll take a look at the spark notes