This was first proposed by Karl Marx, a German philosopher and sociologist. Furthermore, Parsons emphasized that value consensus is the basis for a society’s order.Ĭonflict theory suggests that due to the competition for resources, the society is in a state of perpetual conflict. Just like body parts, institutions have their functions and boundaries. Regarding Parsons, he viewed society as a human body he had an organic analogy. In addition, Durkheim suggested that too much freedom, characterized by unclear morals, leads to anomie, a state of confusion.

Also, individuals need to feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves to create a sense of solidarity. The people are heavily influenced by the mores, laws, beliefs, customs, language, and other cultural elements. Durkheim proposed that the society shapes the individual and social solidarity is essential. Two of the key functionalist thinkers are Emile Durkheim, a French sociologist, and Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist (Thompson, 2016). Also, value consensus, as evidenced by the people’s agreement of norms and values, is essential in fostering cooperation towards progress. This means that there is a social structure which fundamentally influences the members of the society and that a stable social structure defines a successful society. In line with this, functionalism is described as a structural consensus theory. If families malfunction, the whole society’s stability and productivity will be affected. The family is also expected to pay taxes which are financing the government’s projects for the society. For instance, the family, which is the smallest unit of the society, functions to rear law-abiding citizens who can also work for other institutions such as education, healthcare, and economy. Hence, if one unit or institution malfunctions, the whole society is affected. The society as composed of interdependent components which exist to fulfill vital roles. It focuses on the macro-level since it views society as more than the sum of its parts. Functionalism, or the functionalist perspective, is one of sociology’s major theoretical perspectives it proposes that each individual contributes to the society’s overall performance and stability (Crossman, 2020).

Structural functional theory