Despite of being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, United States is experiencing growing inequalities in wealth distribution. One theory of class and social inequality is Durkheim’s functional approach at explaining the inevitability and social functions of inequality. Durkheim views the world as a balanced system composed of different interrelated parts. Society, therefore, exists as a result of interdependence and consensus of values among its members. Under this concept, some roles in society are believed to be more important than others and thus are worth receiving more resources and rewards from society. As a result, inequality is viewed not only as inevitable, but also as a beneficial feature of all societies.
I think that functional theory of inequality has its merits because it helps us understand how a society functions and the reason behind the existence of inequality within a society. It addresses the issue of class and social inequality on a broader spectrum as opposed to concentrating only on narrow issues such as ownership of poverty or bureaucracy and occupation.
Functionalism, however, does have some shortcomings. First of all, this theory favors social stability instead of change because of the view that inequality is functional and inevitable. Second of all, it underemphasizes the significant impact of wealth attained through inheritance on the creation and perpetuation of inequality. Also, this theory could be viewed as circular as it is hard to establish the causal relationship between high paying jobs and their functions in society, i.e. are high paying jobs defined as the ones with most function simply because they are high paying or vice versa. Furthermore, if the assumption of interdependent nature of people in a society is true, then all roles should be equally important and therefore deserve equal compensation.
11 years ago
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The reason Functionalism favors social stability is because the school of thought itself argues that certain things- in this case economic inequality- serves a function and keeps society operating. I would not say Functionalism has its shortcomings because all theories have explanations put forth that seek to explain or analyze occurences and trends within society but are never going to satisfy everyone or make every wrong turn right. I view it this way perhaps because I agree with post-modernists theorists who do not seek to solve the world's problems but only seek to explain and understand the way society works. And you are right, high paying jobs are considered high paying is because their functions are high in necessity and the skills, specialization,& ability, and effort required for these jobs are also on a high level. They are not defined high function simply b/c they are high paying, they are high paying due to their high function. The causal relationship is clear. If your tasks increase and grow more difficult are you not going to feel you deserve a raise and also feel your purpose/function is growing in importance? Interdependence does not equate with equal value or pay, interdependence means we all need each other for something in some way, it does not mean we all value one another's capablities or what they provide equally. That is, I need people who make toilet paper and value toilet paper as well however I also need a lap top. So does this mean the people who make toilet paper which is far less complex and requires far less technical knowledge etc..should be paid the same? This is how organic solidarity came about.
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