Sign In
Not register? Register Now!
Pages:
2 pages/≈550 words
Sources:
4 Sources
Style:
APA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Reaction Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 7.92
Topic:

Racism And Ethnicity In The Society

Reaction Paper Instructions:

Describe Poverty from the three sociological perspectives: Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism and Conflict. This is your opinion.
Here is an example related to Poverty:
Functionalist perspective views society as a system, and can be viewed as different parts of society working together, and every part needs to be present or else society will fail - think of society as an organism. So, in a way, poverty is needed to balance society. We need to have poverty to be able to have rich people. If we have no poverty, there cannot be rich people. They view it as a necessary part of society, as bad as it is. Functionalist view people who suffer poverty as deserving because they lack the skills to make them reap the rewards of society.
Conflict perspective society is made up of groups with competing self-interests. Groups that compete with each other will have differences of power. Basically, conflict perspective would state that because conflict already exists in society, poverty will exist. Since there is wealthy people there has to be poor people because wealth and power are distributed unequally. The group that become dominant, usually wealthy people, will tend to make up the rules of how goods of society will be supplied, and because they want to make sure the dominants group interests are at the top, they will only serve the interest of the dominant group. For instance, wealthy people don't care much about the poor people, for all they know they deserve to be where they are at. They are only interested in looking out for the interest of other wealthy people to keep their lifestyle. So they view poverty as a part of society that is based on inequality. Conflict is needed for society to be able to view faults and try to fix them and close the gap of inequality.
Interactionist perspective basically say that society is possible because people interact with each other. We give meaning to things based on our encounters. The world is socially constructed, meaning we make the world have the meaning that most of society finds fitting. Basically, this perspective would be more interested in how a person was able to fall into poverty in the first place. So in this view, poor people exist because they were never able to make sense of their world. They might have not been able to see opportunity or were not around people who offered much in the way of a better life. Poverty exists because people who are in it saw other people struggle and that’s all they know. They basically never tried for more options since they probably didn't have the network to expand and get recognized.

Reaction Paper Sample Content Preview:
Racism and Ethnicity Name Institution Racism and Ethnicity Racism and ethnicity form a key problem in the society. The functionalists have it that race and ethnicity are part of a cohesive society and their importance explains the reasons for its long-term existence. The society is also viewed as a whole in relations to the functions of its constituent elements. Racism is dysfunctional and unpleasant for men, women, and children who experience it. Yet in as much as this concept is problematic, it contributes positively to the society, but mostly to the dominant group. Racism and ethnicity benefit the dominant group more by strengthening the bonds that exist between them through the exclusion of the out-group members. Refusal to allow outsiders’ access can increase solidarity in society (DiAngelo, 2018). Slavery, for instance, was beneficial to the slaveholders. Also, close ties that result from ethnic and racial membership present some positive functions regardless of forming racial and ethnic enclaves. This brings about social cohesion and awareness which have greater benefits to the economy. Political benefits also arise when different communities search for recognition, services, and resources through political mobilization. Moreover, cultural and emotional support for the individuals who might otherwise feel discriminated by the dominant society is provided by the close racial ties. Therefore, race and ethnicity are constituent elements of society that contributes to its relatively smooth functioning. The conflict theory considers the society a system made of unequal groups and as a result, conflicts and its ever-changing nature are inevitable. Numerous struggles that have brought about conflicts in the U.S both in the past and present, for instance, involves the dominant white ruling group and the minorities racial and ethnic groups (Murji & Solomos, 2015). The dominant group is viewed as a threat to the minority group. Patterns of exclusion attempts and efforts to suppress voters have been constantly aimed at minority gr...
Updated on
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now:

You Might Also Like Other Topics Related to racism:

HIRE A WRITER FROM $11.95 / PAGE
ORDER WITH 15% DISCOUNT!