Answer to Question #179036 in Sociology for zain

Question

How would you explain the role of social institutions in society – do they perform positive functions or simply work in the interests of the powerful class and against the exploited class? Argue based on your preferred sociological perspective. Provide an example from recent news to support your argument.

Answer 1

Social institutions are the structures of the society that fulfill the needs of the society, they are essential to the societal needs and they also help to establish the society itself. The social institutions include religious groups, government, and education and to judge whether they play positive or negative roles to the society, I have to rely on Contrast theory that is identified with the German Philosopher and Sociologist Karl Marx to arrive at my conclusion. Karl Marx argues that the society is made up of individuals in various classes who have to compete for material, social, and political resources like food, employment, leisure, education, and housing. The social institutions like education, government, and reflect this competition in their inherent inequalities to help perpetuate the unequal social structure. Consequently, I arrive at my judgement that social institutions promote inequalities by working in the interests of the powerful class and against the exploited class?