During the 1950’s, Parsons developed a structural-functionalism theory where he said that humans were "acting," in a non-voluntary way. He said that society was molding people and making them think that there was a certain way to look and live. Parsons’s favorite model was the history of the U.S. He felt that the American society as a whole, would mold people into something that was unoriginal and fake. He felt that humans in his day were like robots and didn’t think for themselves.
Parsons figured out that there was a tri-polar society with upper, lower, and a middle classes, proving Marx’s theory of a bi-polar society wrong.
Parsons put the old theory to rest and soon Russia acknowledged the tri-polar theory and adopted the way of life. Talcott Parsons main goal throughout most of his studies was to convincingly describe logical types of social relation that included all groups of society not just the rich or poor. His most prominent accomplishment was to construct a system or general theory of social action to include a cross- section of all its aspects.
Considered a functionalist, Parsons regarded society as tending toward a self-regulating, self-maintaining entity with certain basic needs, including the preservation of the social order, the delivery of goods and services, and the care of children. According to functional theory, society is an organism, and each part serves a purpose or maintains a function; members of society cooperate to fulfill society's needs because they share common goals and values.
Conflict theory is based upon the view that the fundamental causes of crime are the social and economic forces operating within society. The criminal justice system and criminal law are thought to be operating on behalf of rich and powerful social elites, with resulting policies aimed at controlling the poor. The.......
