Question

describe the difference between the different theories of the social problems as well as different types of social movement

Answer 1

• According to functionalism theory;social problems weaken a society’s stability but do not reflect fundamental faults in how the society is structured. Solutions to social problems should take the form of gradual social reform rather than sudden and far-reaching change. Despite their negative effects, social problems often also serve important functions for society.
  
• For example, crime is a major social problem, but it is also good for the economy because it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs in law enforcement, courts and corrections, home security, and other sectors of the economy whose major role is to deal with crime. If crime disappeared, many people would be out of work.
• Similarly, poverty is also a major social problem, but one function that poverty serves is that poor people do jobs that otherwise might not get done because other people would not want to do them. Like crime, poverty also provides employment for people across the nation, such as those who work in social service agencies that help poor people.
• According to conflict theory;social problems arise from fundamental faults in the structure of a society and both reflect and reinforce inequalities based on social class, race, gender, and other dimensions. Successful solutions to social problems must involve far-reaching change in the structure of society.
  
• Conflict theory in its various forms views social problems as arising from society’s inherent inequality.
• According to symbolic interactionism theory;social problems arise from the interaction of individuals. People who engage in socially problematic behaviors often learn these behaviors from other people. Individuals also learn their perceptions of social problems from other people.
  
• Socially problematic behaviors such as crime and drug use are often learned from our interaction with people who engage in these behaviors; we adopt their attitudes that justify committing these behaviors, and we learn any special techniques that might be needed to commit these behaviors.
• We also learn our perceptions of a social problem from our interaction with other people, whose perceptions and beliefs influence our own perceptions and beliefs.
• Social movements are broad alliances of people who are connected through their shared interest in social change. Social movements can advocate for a particular social change, but they can also organize to oppose a social change that is being advocated by another entity.
• These movements do not have to be formally organized to be considered social movements. Different alliances can work separately for common causes and still be considered a social movement.
• In 1966, cultural anthropologist David F. Aberle identified four kinds of social movements: alternative, redemptive, reformative, and revolutionary.
  
• Alternative movements are do-it-yourself efforts that seek to change some aspects of an individual's behavior.
• Alternative Social Movements are looking at a selective part of the population, and the amount of change is limited due to this. Planned Parenthood is an example of this, because it is directed toward people of childbearing age to teach about the consequences of sex.
• A redemptive social movement is one that seeks total personal transformation and is typically religious in nature. The spread of Christianity is a prime example of a redemptive social movement.
• Reformative social movement is a social movement that seeks to change only some specific aspects of how society functions.The movement to obtain marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples is an example of a reformative social movement.
  
• Revolutionary social movements want to change all of society. The Communist party is an example of wanting to radically change social institutions.