What are the advantages of functionalism in sociology?
Functionalism is a theory that is very positive about society. They believe that the family assists in the creation of individual identity (primary socialisation) and education plays a key part in creating a common identity (social solidarity, value consensus). Education is positive because it gives everyone a fair chance in achieving success and does not discriminate against class, gender or ethnicity (so they disagree with Marxist and Feminist arguments). They believe that education is meritocratic (you get what you deserve on merit and merit alone) and your future role in society is determined by your efforts (role allocation). Parsons is the big name to use when talking about Education; Durkheim when talking about the family. You note in your description that you are talking about crime. So Functionalists under Durkheim initially believed that crime didn’t exist! Yes he was mad!! However, over time he acknowledged that crime did exist but this crime was beneficial for society e.g.
