Plasticity of Contemporary Racism: Functionalist Orientation Anomalies and Emergence of Social Conflict Theory

Antonio Cansinos

doi:10.22158/wjssr.v7n1p53

Abstract

During the last century, sociological functionalism has been a sociological dominant interpretation. This trend has also developed within anthropology, biology, and the social sciences in general. Since the first evolutionary considerations, social interaction has been commonly interpreted from functional premises. In this way, racism as a social aversion has been seen as a consequence of the natural functioning of human societies. The present study contrasts the functionalist vision with the social conflict approach to evaluate each theoretical procedure. The research conclusions suggest that social conflict is capable of offering successful results on the nature of contemporary racism. However, there is currently a lack of research on the appropriateness of each of the approaches. The present work suggests to continue research of each orientation and particularly the use of social conflict as an analytical orientation.

Highlights

Different periods have been proposed to locate the birth of sociological functionalism
This historical moment can be considered the founder of evolutionary psychology, with works such as Spencer and James being the basis of sociological functionalism
There are innumerable theoretical principles about social conflict, four, in particular, are relevant: the first indicates that institutionalism has been built to disorganize human relations, solidify stratification, and continues to define new needs through prestige, property, values; the second presupposes that there are perpetual conflicts of a psychological nature within the individual, conflicts between groups of individuals, and conflicts between the system and the individual; the third principle holds that the private property of the means of production fosters an unavoidable conflict between human interests; and the fourth argues that the social system, paradoxically, reproduces the conflict either by maintaining the statu quo or by wanting to overturn it

Summary

Introduction

Different periods have been proposed to locate the birth of sociological functionalism. Among its premises were mostly four: the first considered society as an «organism», the second held that social elements developed their existence mechanically and teleologically, the third argued that social members were intended to merge, integrate and stabilize the system avoiding isolation and adapting to the environment (on which the ideas of «coadaptation» and «fusion» were proposed), and that a social system was aimed at the conservation and existence of the social institutions to reproduce itself From all these premises, functionalism infers that positivism can interpret human historical reality because it acts functionally. There are innumerable theoretical principles about social conflict, four, in particular, are relevant: the first indicates that institutionalism has been built to disorganize human relations, solidify stratification, and continues to define new needs through prestige, property, values; the second presupposes that there are perpetual conflicts of a psychological nature within the individual, conflicts between groups of individuals, and conflicts between the system and the individual; the third principle holds that the private property of the means of production fosters an unavoidable conflict between human interests; and the fourth argues that the social system, paradoxically, reproduces the conflict either by maintaining the statu quo or by wanting to overturn it

Results

Discussion

Conclusion