What are the differences between symbolic Interactionism and functionalism?

Table of Contents:

1. What are the differences between symbolic Interactionism and functionalism?
2. What does symbolic Interactionism mean?
3. What does Marx say about social class?
4. Is Weber a structuralist?
5. What does Karl Marx say about inequality?
6. Did Karl Marx believe in equality?

What are the differences between symbolic Interactionism and functionalism?

The main difference between functionalism and symbolic interactionism is that functionalism looks at society as a complex system whose components work together to promote unity and stability whereas symbolic interactionism looks at society as a social construct that relies on human interpretations.

What does symbolic Interactionism mean?

Symbolic interactionism is viewing society as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop views about the world, and communicate with one another. We are thinking beings who act according to how we interpret situations.

What does Marx say about social class?

Marxian class theory asserts that an individual's position within a class hierarchy is determined by their role in the production process, and argues that political and ideological consciousness is determined by class position.

Is Weber a structuralist?

Weber's writing had an influence on structural functionalism, critical theory, some of the social interaction approaches, and much contemporary sociological theory, including some Marxist approaches that use ideas from Weber. The historical, economic, and political analyses of Marx and Weber is largely structuralist.

What does Karl Marx say about inequality?

Marxists theorize that inequality and poverty are functional components of the capitalist mode of production: capitalism necessarily produces inegalitarian social structures. Inequality is transferred from one generation to another through the environment of services and opportunities which surrounds each individual.

Did Karl Marx believe in equality?

In reality, Marx eschewed the entire concept of equality as abstract and bourgeois in nature, focusing his analysis on more concrete issues such as opposition to exploitation based on economic and materialist logic. Marx renounced theorizing on moral concepts and refrained from advocating principles of justice.