Sociology Optional (Applied Sociology Using Thinkers) by Smriti Rao

Model Answer

Question #1. Using Parsons' AGIL framework, how can we analyse key problems in a society?

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Parson’s AGIL model is the systematic depiction of certain societal functions which every society must meet to be able to maintain stable social life. He identified 4 functional prerequisites for a social system to exist-

Adaptation- It implies generation and acquisition of resources from outside the system, its external environment and to effect its distribution in the system. Economic system is instrumental in performing this function

Goal-Attainment- It involves the determination of goals, motivating members of the system to attain these goals, and mobilizing the members and their energies for the achievement of these goals. For example, political system and power/ authority structures

Integration- It helps to maintain coherence, solidarity and coordination in the system. It is performed by cultures and values, laws etc

Latency- It stores, organizes and maintains the motivational energy of elements in the social system. Its main function is pattern maintenance and tension management within the system. Structures like religion, education, family performs this function

Parsons’s categories apply to systems and their sub-systems and their sub-subsystems

Application of AGIL key framework-

Parsons was motivated to make a grand-level theory. In his AGIL model, he claims that any social system can be analysed by these functional prerequisites.

Let us understand the problem of traffic in India through the AGIL model.

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A                                                                                                                                                                                      G

• The economy performs the adaptation function by providing the resources to the government to create infrastructure like traffic signals, highways etc and to hire personnel to manage the traffic.
• Political system set the goals towards low accidental rates, fewer traffic jams, noise and air pollution.
• The integration of these goals are performed by laws which supervise the implementation of the rules. Compulsion of helmet, following traffic signals, CCTV surveillance are some integrative measures
• Finally the latency function is performed by families as vehicle owners can have family responsibilities which make them abide by laws and be safe on roads.

Parsons in his AGIL framework explained the interconnectivity in a social system and the means to correct the disruptive behavior i.e. social control.

Question #2. Various thinkers such as Tonnies, Weber, Marx, Durkheim predicted the character of modern societies. Examine how far their theories are relevant today.

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Modernity is characterised by the emergence of secularised societies, an institutional division of labour between the state and civil society, a higher degree of social and technical specialisation, the establishment of nation-states that unite cultural and political borders, a rationalistic epistemology, and an individualistic and objectivist ontology. Sociologists refer to the "modern" era that started in Europe several hundred years ago as "modernity."

Sociological perspectives on modern societies

• Karl Marx’s interest with modernity was in terms of production relations. It was the capitalist class's goal to grow its output. More production means more profit. For him, capitalism was ultimately about profiteering. As a result, Marx contended that in capitalism, everything is a commodity. Everything in society is a commodity, including dance, theatre, literature, and religion. It is produced and sold on the market.
• Max Weber examines a vast body of literature on dominance, religion, and other aspects of life and concludes that reason is the overarching thread that underlies human activities. As a result, he has characterised modernity as reason. Modernity, in his opinion, is identical with rationality.
• Emile Durkheim had direct experience with industrialisation and urbanisation. He was scared about the effects of modernization. His investigation into modern culture produced really fascinating and thrilling discoveries. He was a practical thinker. He was a fervent believer in the need of societal cohesion. He values society more than anything else. It is exceptional. It is indeed God. Regardless, civilization never stands still.
• Ferdinand Tonnies used the German concepts Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft to describe important traits of basic and modern civilizations. Tonnies described simple cultures as having a strong sense of community, with strong familial, clan, and communal relationships. Tonnies claims that as cultures expanded and industrialised, and people went to cities, social relationships deteriorated and became more impersonal. Tonnies despised the condition, which he referred to as a Gesellschaft.

Some of the key features of modern societies are:

• Modernisation, as a cultural reaction, entails universalistic and evolutionary characteristics; they are pan-humanistic, trans-ethnic, and non-ideological.
• The most important feature of modernity is its rationale. Rationality transforms thought processes at the individual level, permeating the entire institutional framework of society in the process. Cause and effect are used to explain events and situations.
• Careful means-ends calculations are used to establish action plans. Rationality comes to characterise all kinds of human interaction and penetrates people's visions of a new future as well as their efforts to achieve the goals they set for themselves.
• Concurrent structural and value adjustments cause significant transformations in the overall cultural ethos.
• Economic production is industrial and capitalist, with social class serving as the primary means of social division.
• The expansion of cities, also known as urbanisation. Thousands of individuals travelled to cities throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to find employment and build a home.

Tradition is seen as an impediment to development in the classical approaches, but it is seen as an additive factor in modern approaches. In terms of technique, the classical approach employs a theoretical framework with a high degree of abstraction. In terms of development direction, the classical view favours a unidirectional path that trends toward the US and European models, whereas the new perspective promotes a multidirectional path of growth. Finally, the classical approach shows a disregard for external circumstances and conflict. This stands in stark contrast to the new approach's increased focus on external variables and disputes. Development in the new setting is both a problem and an opportunity.