Sociology/Social Anthropology
Functionalism is a sociological
macro-perspective based on the
concept of
consensus.
That is to say, "macro-perspective" because it focuses on
society as a whole rather than on the
individual, and "consensus" because, as the name suggests, Functionalism is about how social
institutions and
aspects of society
function in relation to one another.
Marxism, while also being a "macro-perspective", is based on the theory of "
conflict", meaning that the different
facets of society battle one another instead of working in
harmony.
Symbolic Interactionism is an example of a "
micro-perspective", as it focuses on the daily
interactions of the individual.
Functionalists believe that
everything in society exists in order to perform a specific function. Social institutions such as the
family, the
school and the
workplace have their specific functions, largely in the
socialisation of the individual. This concept of many functioning parts making up society as a whole has led to the
analogy of the
human body; each institution is useless on its own, but
comprises an
integral part of society. According to
Emile Durkheim, the
founder of Functionalism, even
crime is necessary in society to a certain
extent. However, too much crime can bring about a state of "
Anomie" or "lawlessness",
disrupting the harmony of the functioning society.
Some other notable Functionalists are
Talcott Parsons,
Kai T. Erikson and
Robert Merton.
Source: The Deeper Recesses of My Mind Having Sat Through Two Years of A Level Sociology