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Hence, class struggles exist all the time -- the world is not in equilibrium as functionalism points out (Demerath, 1996).
Functionalism is also premised on the fact that people have already achieved a consensus -- the consensus by which reality is to be constructed and this allows them to successfully define and fulfill their roles in the society. On the other hand, conflict is premised on the fact that consensus has not been achieved because it is still a matter under constant struggle (ibid).
Lastly, functionalism is also being charged as failing to account for social change which conflict theory satisfactorily addresses. To maintain that the society is in constant movement towards the attainment of social equilibrium or balance, the theory fails to address the ways and mechanisms by which the society is changing (ibid).
Which is better?
This brings us to the question of which theory is more effective in explaining the social world. The operative word in this crucial question is the term effective. For the purpose of this paper, let us adopt the definition of effective as being able to produce the desired effect (Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, 2009) -- the desired effect being the ability to explain the social world.
Putting in mind the above considerations, I believe that none of these two theories is better than the other or more effective than the other in explaining the social world. Allow me to substantiate this claim. By looking at similarities and differences, we can see that every theory is...
The diversity of the social world does not allow for a uniform observation and consequently assumptions about our social setting. This premise leads us to the fact that there will always be no one way by which we can best describe the society. Indeed, we have seen that both theories have their strengths and weakness; they make several assumptions and leave out several observations. This is the mechanism by which theorizing revolves.
At the end of the day, what we can realize is that the world is too vast, complex, and rich, that no one theory can best capture our social reality. What we need is what Protagoras recognizes as 'multiplicity of perspectives' -- the ability to see things in many angles; to analyze the social world from many different perspectives (Zappen et al., 1997). Competing theories like functionalism and conflict theory continuously exist because they are both deemed fundamental in explaining social realities.
References
Demerath, N.J. (1996). Who Now Debates Functionalism? From System, Change and Conflict to "Culture, Choice, and Praxis. Sociological Forum, 11(2), 333-345.
Henslin, J. (1993). Sociology. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Merriam Webster Online Dictionary (2009). Effective. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effective on April 3, 2009.
Zappen, J.P. (1997). Rhetoric, Community, and Cyberspace. Retrieved from http://www.rpi.edu/~zappenj/Publications/Texts/rhetoric.html on April 3, 2009.
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