WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology sample

127 Functionalist views on stratification Role allocation Theory Functionalists say that society pays these rewards of money and status to ensure that the best people will work hard and achieve these roles . The occupations are so important that society needs to know that the most skilled and committed will get them. Therefore, stratification does an important job for society in matching the right people to the right jobs. The functionalists who presented this idea were called Davis and Moore. They said that the stratification system had the function (job) of role allocation . This means that people will get a job that matches their ability and the effort they are prepared to make. Without the rewards, this would not happen. Even worse, Davis and Moore say that, without rewards, we could not be sure that people would try their best at their jobs. Our society would not work properly. Functionalists say that most people see the inequality of the stratification system as fair. This is because they believe that society is based on agreement or consensus . They say that people understand the need for the best people to have the most important jobs. Therefore, inequality is seen as necessary and fair by most. A similar idea to the functionalists’ is that of the New Right . New Right sociologists became popular in the 1980s. One of them, Peter Saunders, said that it was possible not to have stratification, but that society would struggle without it. He believed the best way to organise society was to have unequal rewards. He also said that people in the middle class had the best occupations because they were naturally cleverer and worked harder. Saunders believes that the UK is fairly close to being a meritocracy: a society where rewards go to those who work hard and have ability. Evaluation Melvin Tumin claims that the functionalists are wrong because not everyone in society has an equal chance. He also argues that not all jobs come with the rewards they deserve. For example, nursing and childcare are very important roles but are not well paid. Some high- paid jobs, like professional footballers, might not be important to society. Taking it further Find out more about New Right views about stratification. Make a list of reasons why they might be right and another list of reasons why they might be wrong. SUMMARY Functionalists offer an explanation of why we must have inequalities. They believe that stratification (society being made up of unequal layers) of rich and poor is necessary for society to function well. Davis and Moore say that stratification helps to find the right people for the right jobs and motivates people to try their best. However, some sociologists disagree because not everyone has a fair chance. In the next sections you will find out what Marxists and feminists have to say about this. Functionalists like Davis and Moore believe that unequal rewards help to match the right people to the right jobs.