Functionalist Theory Applied To The British Riots Of 2011
British Riots of 2011
This essay will consider the British Riots of 2011, relating the events specifically to the functionalist perspective of Emile Durkheim and others. It will offer definitions of key terms, identify key concepts and consider opposing arguments from opposing theoretical perspectives. It will apply these concepts to the 2011 Riots and argue that the killing of Mark Duggan by police was not, as many believed, the only reason behind the riots.
Functionalist theory suggests society is a system consisting of a number of different but interdependent parts which contribute to its overall stability and functioning. Auguste Comte helped to develop functionalism as a perspective in the 19th century with Emile Durkheim later comparing society to the human body in an organic analogy – the body is dependant on a series of systems working together to ensure its survival and in the same way, society relies on systems working cooperatively together to ensure its survival.
If all is well in society then there is order, stability and productivity. If this is not so, society must adapt and change in order to regain the lost order and stability. Functionalists believe society …show more content…
He introduced the concept more fully in his 1951 study of suicide where he suggested anomic suicide resulted from the breakdown of social standards necessary for regulating behaviour. He further believed that anomie arises more from a mismatch between person or group standards, wider social standards or a weak social code which results in deviant behaviour. Although the term anomie suggests normlessness, Durkheim never used the word, instead describing anomie as “derangement” or “an insatiable will” (Encyclopaedia Britannica
This essay will consider the British Riots of 2011, relating the events specifically to the functionalist perspective of Emile Durkheim and others. It will offer definitions of key terms, identify key concepts and consider opposing arguments from opposing theoretical perspectives. It will apply these concepts to the 2011 Riots and argue that the killing of Mark Duggan by police was not, as many believed, the only reason behind the riots.
Functionalist theory suggests society is a system consisting of a number of different but interdependent parts which contribute to its overall stability and functioning. Auguste Comte helped to develop functionalism as a perspective in the 19th century with Emile Durkheim later comparing society to the human body in an organic analogy – the body is dependant on a series of systems working together to ensure its survival and in the same way, society relies on systems working cooperatively together to ensure its survival.
If all is well in society then there is order, stability and productivity. If this is not so, society must adapt and change in order to regain the lost order and stability. Functionalists believe society …show more content…
He introduced the concept more fully in his 1951 study of suicide where he suggested anomic suicide resulted from the breakdown of social standards necessary for regulating behaviour. He further believed that anomie arises more from a mismatch between person or group standards, wider social standards or a weak social code which results in deviant behaviour. Although the term anomie suggests normlessness, Durkheim never used the word, instead describing anomie as “derangement” or “an insatiable will” (Encyclopaedia Britannica