Chapter Summary for Chapter 3
Theoretical thinking in sociology is needed if we are to explain and understand social life, and theories are linked to society’s main problems. Understanding the field of sociological theory today is more complex than in the past because society’s central problems are changing and sociologists have been forced to develop new theories as a result. Students therefore need to grasp both classical and contemporary theories.
There is a distinction between grand theory and the less ambitious pursuit of ‘theories of the middle range’. The latter combine general applicability with the criterion of testability, one example being the theory of relative deprivation. However, there has been a return to grand theorizing in recent times.
Early sociological thinkers, such as Comte and Spencer, drew heavily on the successful natural sciences and were influenced by emerging evolutionary theory. Comte’s positivism and Spencer’s theory of social evolution are good examples of this trend. Marx’s theory of successive modes of production leading from primitive communism through feudalism and capitalism towards communism is probably the most influential example of grand theory yet seen.
Later scholars influenced by Marx include the Frankfurt School, which sought to address some of the problems within Marxist theory. However, it was Durkheim who did most to establish sociology as an academic discipline within universities. His argument about the existence of social facts and the need for a new discipline capable of studying them marked a major turning point in the social sciences.
The later structural functionalism of Parsons became dominant in sociology for a time, but his overly abstract systems theory and unconvincing handling of social conflicts led to the emergence of a plurality of theoretical perspectives.
Max Weber’s study of the Protestant Ethic is an example of good theory because it is counter-intuitive, solves a puzzle and can be applied beyond its immediate context to act as a stimulus to further research. Along with Mead’s ideas, Weber’s work provided the basis for numerous interactionist studies and perspectives rooted in the study of micro-level phenomena. Symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and ethnomethodology are the main variants of such broadly interactionist perspectives.
Four dilemmas can be identified in theoretical thinking within twenty-first-century sociology. These are: action versus structure, consensus versus conflict, the problem of gender, and the shaping of modern social development.
Durkheim believed that social structure is external to the individual in the same way as are the walls of a room. While this is a widely accepted view, its critics argue that society is nothing but a composite of many individual actions.
The second controversy is consensus versus conflict. Durkheim, and most functionalists after him, emphasize integration and harmony in society. Those more influenced by Marx see societies as inherently full of tension: conflict is built into the form rather than being a pathological aberration. Once again, these positions are not totally irreconcilable.
Issues of gender have been absent from most of classical sociology. The feminist charge is that sociological theory has ignored the gendered nature of knowledge. There is an important distinction between the need to incorporate women into sociology and the need to incorporate gender. Forging a relationship between gender and other forms of social division is a major task for the future.
The final dilemma concerns the shaping of the modern world. Marx saw capitalism as a motive force behind social change – its dynamism, along with its global tendency, is its distinctive feature. The current period sees Marx more criticized than ever, especially since the collapse of Eastern European communism after 1989. Weber is still seen as having carried on a debate with the ghost of Marx, his classic Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism emphasizing the importance of non-economic factors. In addition to capitalism, Weber adds the forces of science and bureaucracy, which together equal rationalization.
Recent theorizing includes feminism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, globalization and risk theory.
Feminist theorists today, such as Judith Butler, are not simply interested in gender inequalities but also in questioning the very concept of gender and its meaning.
Poststructuralists like Michel Foucault have explored the idea of discourse: ways of talking or thinking about health, crime and sexuality, and their powerful impact on the structuring of social life.
For postmodernists such as Bauman and Baudrillard, modernity or the modern world itself is the subject of radical critique. Whilst Marxists strive to hold onto rationality and science, many postmodernists point to their negative impact on societies, which undermines their legitimacy.
The identification of closer global interconnectedness and global environmental issues such as climate change has given rise to new theories of globalization and risk. In the work of Giddens and Beck, risk has emerged as a central concept alongside a focus on how global risks are created and managed.
Contemporary theorists all have connections to the classic theories in sociology, but they now look to adapt and refine these in order to explain the characteristics of the contemporary world. In this sense, they are emulating sociology’s founders by producing theories of similar scale and scope.
