Sociology / Unit 9 Soc 1516 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Functionalism on Government
Captions available
The idea
Functionalists hold that government serves four purposes: planning and directing society, meeting social needs, maintaining order, and managing international relations.
In practice
A government agency issuing building codes and running courts to settle property disputes fulfills the order-maintaining function directly.
Where people slip
Naming a function government serves is not a claim that the current arrangement serves it well or fairly.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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