Functionalism in Sociology

A brief review of sociological functionalism, which is interpreted as a structural framework of sociological analysis. The development of functionalism in sociology is associated with the theoretical work of Emile Durkheim, A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, & Bronislaw Malinowski; its modern form was developed primarily by US sociologists, especially at Harvard U (Cambridge, Mass). Due to the particular heterogeneity of US society, US functional sociology concentrates on problems of social differentiation & social integration. According to this school, the notion of social equality is nothing but an ideal construction developed in the preindustrial age; it does not conform to the regularities of modern society. The underlying inequality can be compensated by functional adjustment, primarily socialization. 24 References. M. Polinsky