Question

Apply each of the 3 main sociological theories to poverty. And how would a theorist from each perspective (structural functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionist) view this social problem?

Answer 1

Ans.

Sociologists employ three primary theoretical perspectives: the symbolic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. These perspectives offer theoretical explainations on how society influences people, and vice versa.

According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols. Poverty is thus considered to be a consequence of the interpretations which people give to understand economic inequality. Thus, instead of addressing the real macro issue in a social crisis like poverty, symbolic intercationists would emphasis on the social interactions between different classes which create conflict and reinforce the inequal distribution of wealth.

According to the functionalist perspective, each structure of society is interdependent and contributes to society's functioning as a whole. Thus, the family, school, religious institution, government, etc influence each other and work in soila cohesion through a social contract. This leads to order, stability, and productivity. However, If all does not go well, the parts of society then must adapt to recapture a new order, stability, and productivity. Form this point of view, poverty is explained as a function of larger economic values which are protected by the system as a whole. Thus, people are asused to not take an active role in changing their social environment, even when such change may benefit them. Instead, functionalism sees active social change as undesirable such as during a financial recession with high rates of unemployment and inflation, the government takes decisions such as cutting down social programs, deficits in the budget for commodities of luxury, medical care, etc. in order to maintain stability.

The conflict perspective, which originated primarily out of Karl Marx's theory of class struggles, presents the negative, conflicted, and ever?changing nature of society. The conflict theory offers a comprehensive analytical framework for unders the causes of the origin and maintenance of poverty in society. Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, focus attention on social change even through extreme means like social revolution, and believe that the elite and powerful people miantain a hegemony over social order on the poor and the weaker sections by controlling the major resources in society.

Thus, these three views in Sociology provide very distinct explanations for the same social problem like poverty. While it may be difficult to choose one over the other or decide which is more inconsequential, an inofmred criticla review of these theories would require understanding the larger historical context in which the theories emerge and the relatives take on social reality that emerged from there.