Therefore, it will lead to direct instability in the food production of the people. In addition to weather issues, manure aids provided by the government also fail to give optimum results. Yet if these aspects do not function well, several parts or elements of the society should adapt to recapture and survive the new order and create productivity out of it.įor example, consider the above example. It advocates that if all these aspects function well, then the society will be more efficient and more stable with high productivity. Moreover, functionalism doesn’t emphasize that these aspects should always have to be ‘good’ or worthy for the stability of the society. Thus, functionalism highlights that it is the inter-dependency among these varied functions or the elements that eventually lead to the maintenance of the society in a more successful manner.įigure 1: Functionalism or Structural Functionalism Hence, the farmers are dependent on the government for manure and other agricultural support the government is also dependent on the farmers for the healthy food they provide Similarly, farmers can support their families from the income they get. Therefore, all these aspects have a role in keeping the society stable and maintain its social order.įor example, the government provides chemicals and manure for farmers and they can succeed in agriculture and can contribute to the overall economic development of the society, by providing people with healthy food and also by paying tax to the government to continue this procedure. Thus, functionalism depicts that each aspect of the society, either those defined as good or bad, are essential for the society to continue.

Furthermore, functionalism is a perspective created by Emile Durkheim. According to the functionalist perspective, each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society’s stability and functioning as a whole. Thus, they are necessary for the survival of that society. – Comparison of Key Differences Key TermsĬonflict Theory, Functionalism, Society, Sociology, Social Science, Structural Functionalismįunctionalism (also known as Structural Functionalism) is the theory that states all aspects of a society are dependent and they serve a function. What is the Difference Between Functionalism and Conflict Theory What is the Similarity Between Functionalism and Conflict TheoryĤ. Therefore, these two demonstrate two distinct approaches to understand what society is like. These two different theories or approaches analyze how the concept of society is created and how it works. Accordingly, functionalism and conflict theory are two fundamental approaches used in sociology. Sociology is an inter-discipline of social science, which studies and analyses the concept of society and the human behaviour. The main difference between functionalism and conflict theory is that the functionalism states that each aspect of a society serves a function and are necessary for the survival of that society while the conflict theory states that a society is in perpetual class conflict due to the limitation and the unequal distribution of resources.

Structural function theory education