Conflict and Functionalist Perspectives Regarding

Conflict and Functionalist Perspectives Regarding America's Incarceration Population

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Currently, there are more than 2.2 million Americans behind bars. This paper will explore how two sociological paradigms, functionalism and conflict theory, would explain the reason for this.

Functionalism looks at society as an organism made up of interdependent sections. These components work together for the betterment and survival of the whole, and must be viewed in terms of their contribution to the functioning of society. It is a structural system, with rules and regulations that organize the individual sections into a cohesive unit.

Roles and norms center on the values held by society and institutions, and their interconnected roles, are created to further provide social structure.

As Holmwood (2005) notes, these interdependent parts have a tendency toward equilibrium and work to meet the functional requirements of society.

Prisons, in and of themselves, are institutions that serve a functional need of society, when viewed through the lens of functionalism. Clearly there is a need for punishment, as well as a method of deterrence, in a structured society, to ensure that it's citizens follow the proscribed rules and laws. Surmising that America is a functional society, striving to get all parts to work together for the whole, one can see that prisons fulfill this need of furthering orderly participation. However, it doesn't fully explain why America specifically has such a high incidence of incarceration.

A higher incidence of incarceration would suggest one of two things. Either:

America is more functionally oriented than other societies; or There is a higher incidence of non-participative individuals in American society.

Utopian functionalist society would look much like Communism.

There are no classes or states, simply society as a whole and all members working towards the common good of that society, which in turn takes care of the individual. America is far from this form of society. Therefore, it would make sense that there are simply more individuals in America that refuse to participate within the structure of society. This expression of individualism and lack of concern for society as whole leads to the increased need for the use of prison institutions.

In contrast, conflict theory surmises that society thrives on individual participant conflict, rather than working together. It is as groups and individuals struggle to maximize their own benefits that social change comes about. It is through the conflict theory that class systems are seen. It is the elite of society that dictates the rules to the masses. Institutions that are created are done so as a means of supporting those who are in power and those who are seen as superior within society. Any action that challenges those in power is perceived as deviant and discouraged. Conflict theory centers on: competition over scarce resources, inequalities in power, change as a result of conflict, and war as a unifier of society and an ender of societies ("Conflict theory," n.d.).

Prison institutions are easily understood in this view of society.

The elite of society need a way to maintain control of the individuals below them, utilizing the conflict paradigm.

Prison serves as punishment of those who deviate from the rules set forth, as well as serves as a deterrent for those who may be considering deviation. it's a powerful tool for those in power. However, just as in functionalism, the justification of its existence doesn't fully explain why America's rate of incarceration, specifically, is so high.

Like the functionalist viewpoint, the higher incidence of incarceration in the United States boils down to two distinct possibilities.