INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PROBLEM

ASSIGNMENT
On The Topic

ROLE OF SOCIOLOGY IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS

INTRODUCTION OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

A social problem is any issue that a group of people sees as being undesirable
for the entire community. The group of people who identify and name the problem
do not necessarily have to constitute all or even a majority of the entire community,
only a significant number out of the whole population. Sometimes this leads to
conflict between groups. Unlike any other discipline, sociology provides us with a
form of self-consciousness, an awareness that our personal experiences are often
caused by structural or social forces. Sociology is the systematic study of individuals
and social structures. A sociologist examines the relationship between individuals
and society, which includes social institutions like the family, military, economy, and
education. As a social science, sociology offers an objective and systematic approach
to understanding the causes of social problems. From a sociological perspective,
problems and their solutions don’t just involve individuals, but also have a great deal
to do with the social structures in our society. This perspective was first promoted
by sociologist C. Wright Mills in his 1959 essay, “The Promise”.
Social problems refer to a large group of issues that community members may
feel negatively affects a certain population. An issue that affects only one individual
is not a social problem. An issue that occurs only once is a social problem. For
example, if a young person has a party and plays loud music, a sleepy neighbor
cannot claim that this incident is a social problem. However, the incident may reflect
what many community members identify as a social problem. The loud music played
at the party reflects the lack of respect for elders among younger people, evident in
the loud music late at night. Some social problems are identified by the whole
population, like crime and war. Social problems must be identified by their
geographic location and boundaries, a particular offending person or group, and an
identifiable, injurious problem.
THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS
A problem is a social condition that has negative consequences for
individuals, our social world, or our physical world. If there were only positive
consequences, there would be no problem. A social problem such as unemployment,
alcoholism, or drug abuse may negatively impact a person’s life and health, along
with the well-being of that person’s family and friends. Problems can threaten our
social institutions, for example, the family (spousal abuse), education (the rising cost
of college tuition), or the economy (unemployment and underemployment). Our
physical and social worlds can be threatened by problems related to urbanization and
the environment
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE REALITIES OF SOCIAL
PROBLEMS
A social problem has objective and subjective realities. A social condition
does not have to be personally experienced by every individual in order to be
considered a social problem. The OBJECTIVE REALITY of a social problem
comes from acknowledging that a particular social condition does exist. For
example, you or I do not have to be poor in order to recognize that some men,
women, and children experience the consequences of living in poverty. We can
confirm the realities of poverty by observing conditions in our own community, at
local clothing drives, food banks, or shelters. Objective realities of a social problem
can be confirmed by the collection of data.
The SUBJECTIVE REALITY of a social problem addresses how a problem
becomes defined as a problem. This idea is based on the concept of the social
construction of reality. Coined by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckman (1966), the
term refers to how our world is a social creation, originating and evolving through
our everyday thoughts and actions. Most of the time, we assume and act as though
the world is a given, objectively predetermined outside of our existence. However,
according to Berger and Luckman also apply subjective meanings to our existence
and experience. In other words, our experiences don’t just happen to us. Good, bad,
positive, or negative—we also attach meanings to our reality.
From this perspective, social problems are not objectively predetermined.
They become real only when they are subjectively defined or perceived as
problematic. This perspective is known as social constructionism. Recognizing the
subjective aspects of social problems allows us to understand how a social condition
may be defined as a problem by one segment of society but be completely ignored
by another. For example, do you believe poverty is a social problem? Some may
argue that it is a problem only if you are the one who is poor. Or poverty is your
problem if you are “lazy “or a “welfare mother. “However, others would argue that
it qualifies as society’s problem. Sociologist Denise Looksee explains that
“conditions might exist, people might be hurt by them, but conditions are not social
problems until humans categorize them as troublesome and in need of repair”.
UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
The way sociologists conduct sociology and study social problems begins
first with their view on how the world works. Based on a theory—a set of
assumptions and propositions used for explanation, prediction, and understanding—
sociologists begin to define the relationship between society and individuals.
Theories vary in their level of analysis, focusing on a macro (societal) or a micro
(individual) level. Theories help inform the direction of sociological research and
data analysis. In the following section, we will review four theoretical perspectives:
Functionalism, Conflict,Feminist & Symbolic Interactionist.
A-FUNCTIONALISM THEORY
Functionalism, also known as the functionalist theory or perspective, arose
out of two great revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The first was
the French Revolution of 1789, whose intense violence and bloody terror shook
Europe to its core. The aristocracy throughout Europe feared that revolution would
spread to their own lands, and intellectuals feared that social order was crumbling.
Today’s functionalist perspective arises out of Durkheim’s work and that of other
conservative intellectuals of the nineteenth century. It uses the human body as a
model for understanding society. In the human body, our various organs and other
body parts serve important functions for the ongoing health and stability of our body.
Our eyes help us see, our ears help us hear, our heart circulates our blood, and so
forth. Just as we can understand the body by describing and understanding the
functions that its parts serve for its health and stability, so can we understand society
by describing and understanding the functions that its parts—or, more accurately, its
social institutions—serve for the ongoing health and stability of society. Thus,
functionalism emphasizes the importance of social institutions such as the family,
religion, and education for producing a stable society.
Theoretical perspective - Functionalism
Major assumptions - Social stability is necessary for a strong society, and adequate
socialization and social integration are necessary for social stability. Society’s social
institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social
change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order.
Views of social problems - Social problems weaken a society’s stability but do not
reflect fundamental faults in how the society is structured. Solutions to social
problems should take the form of gradual social reform rather than sudden and far-
reaching change. Despite their negative effects, social problems often also serve
important functions for society.
B-CONFLICT THEORY
In many ways, conflict theory is the opposite of functionalism but ironically
also grew out of the Industrial Revolution, thanks largely to Karl Marx and his
collaborator, Friedrich Engels. Whereas conservative intellectuals feared the mass
violence resulting from industrialization, Marx and Engels deplored the conditions
they felt were responsible for the mass violence and the capitalist society they felt
was responsible for these conditions. Instead of fearing the breakdown of social
order that mass violence represented, they felt that revolutionary violence was
needed to eliminate capitalism and the poverty and misery they saw as its inevitable
results.
According to Marx and Engels, every society is divided into two classes based
on the ownership of the means of production (tools, factories, and the like). In a
capitalist society, the bourgeoisie, or ruling class, owns the means of production,
while the proletariat, or working class, does not own the means of production and
instead is oppressed and exploited by the bourgeoisie. This difference creates an
automatic conflict of interests between the two groups. Simply put, the bourgeoisie
is interested in maintaining its position at the top of society, while the proletariat’s
interest lies in rising up from the bottom and overthrowing the bourgeoisie to create
an egalitarian society.
Theoretical perspective – Conflict Theory
Major assumptions - Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on
social class, race, gender, and other factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to
reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society.
Views of social problems - Social problems arise from fundamental faults in the
structure of a society and both reflect and reinforce inequalities based on social class,
race, gender, and other dimensions. Successful solutions to social problems must
involve far-reaching change in the structure of society.
C- SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
An interactionist focuses on how we use language, words, and symbols to
create and maintain our social reality. This perspective highlights what we take for
granted: the expectations, rules, and norms that we learn and practice without even
noticing. In our interaction with others, we become the products and creators of our
social reality. Through our interaction, social problems are created and defined.
Symbolic interactionism focuses on the interaction of individuals and on how they
interpret their interaction. Its roots lie in the work of early 1900s American
sociologists, social psychologists, and philosophers who were interested in human
consciousness and action.
Symbolic interactionism views social problems as arising from the interaction
of individuals. This interaction matters in two important respects. First, socially
problematic behaviors such as crime and drug use are often learned from our
interaction with people who engage in these behaviors; we adopt their attitudes that
justify committing these behaviors, and we learn any special techniques that might
be needed to commit these behaviors. Second, we also learn our perceptions of a
social problem from our interaction with other people, whose perceptions and beliefs
influence our own perceptions and beliefs.
Theoritical perspective – Symbolic Interactionism
Major assumptions - People construct their roles as they interact; they do not
merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs,
individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves
and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily
on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their
interaction.
Views of social problems - Social problems arise from the interaction of individuals.
People who engage in socially problematic behaviors often learn these behaviors
from other people. Individuals also learn their perceptions of social problems from
other people

D- FEMINIST
Rosemarie Tong (1989) explains that “feminist theory is not one, but many,
theories or perspectives and that each feminist theory or perspective attempts to
describe women’s oppression, to explain its causes and consequences, and to
prescribe strategies for women’s liberation”. By analyzing the situations and lives of
women in society, feminist theory defines gender (and sometimes race or social
class) as a source of social inequality, group conflict, and social problems. For
feminists, the patriarchal society is the basis of social problems. Patriarchy refers to
a society in which men dominate women and justify their domination through
devaluation; however, the definition of patriarchy has been broadened to include
societies in which powerful groups dominate and devalue the powerless.
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM PROBLEM TO SOLUTION:
Although C. Wright Mills identified the relationship between a personal
trouble and a public issue more than 50 years ago, less has been said about the
transformation of issue to solution. Mills leads us in the right direction by identifying
the relationship between public issues and social institutions. By continuing to use
our sociological imagination and recognizing the role of larger social, cultural, and
structural forces, we can identify appropriate measures to address these social
problems. Let’s consider homelessness. It does not arise out of mysterious or special
circumstances; it emerges out of familiar life experiences. The loss of a job, the
illness of a family member, domestic violence, or divorce could make a family more
susceptible to homelessness. Without informal social support, a savings account, or
suitable and adequate Symbolic interactionism People construct their roles as they
interact; they do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this
interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which
they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so
doing, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared
understanding of their interaction. Social problems arise from the interaction of
individuals. People who engage in socially problematic behaviors often learn these
behaviors from other people. Individuals also learn their perceptions of social
problems from other people. employment—and with the increasing cost of health
care and the lack of affordable housing—a family’s economic and emotional
resources can quickly be tapped out. What would it take to prevent homelessness in
these situations? The answers are not based in each individual or each family; rather,
the long-term solutions are structural solutions such as affordable health care, livable
wages, and affordable low-income housing.
Solutions require social action—in the form of social policy, advocacy, and
innovation—to address problems at their structural or individual levels. Social
policy is the enactment of a course of action through a formal law or program.
Policy-making usually begins with identification of a problem that should be
addressed; then, specific guidelines are developed on what should be done to address
the problem. Policy directly changes the social structure, particularly how our
government, an organization, or community responds to a social problem. In
addition, policy governs the behavior and interaction of individuals, controlling who
has access to benefits and aid.
Social advocates use their resources to support, educate, and empower
individuals and their communities. Advocates work to improve social services,
change social policies, and mobilize individuals. National organizations such as the
National Coalition for the Homeless or local organizations such as Project H.O.M.E.
in Philadelphia provide service, outreach, education, and legal support for the
homeless. Social innovation may take the form of a policy, a program, or advocacy
that features an untested or unique approach. Innovation usually starts at the
community level, but it can grow into national and international programming. The
concept of “partnership housing “was developed by Millard and Linda Fuller in
1965, partnering those in need of adequate shelter with community volunteers to
build simple interest-free houses. In 1976, the Fullers’ concept became Habitat for
Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing program
responsible for building more than 125,000 houses worldwide. When Millard Fuller
was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor,
President Bill Clinton described Habitat as “the most successful continuous
community service project in the history of the United States”.

MAKING SOCIOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS

In his book, Social Things: An Introduction to the Sociological Life, Charles
Lemert tells us that sociology is often presented as a thing to be studied instead of
lived. However, Lemert argues that sociology is also a thing “lived.” Throughout
this text, we will explore three connections. The first connection is the one
between personal troubles and public issues. Each sociological perspective—
functionalism, conflict, feminist, and interactionist—highlights how social problems
emerge out of our social structure or social interaction. The sociological
imagination will also help us make a second connection: the one between social
problems and social solutions. C. Wright Mills believed that the most important
value of sociology was in its potential to enrich and encourage the lives of all
individuals (Lemert 1997). In each chapter, we will review selected social policies,
advocacy programs, and innovative approaches that attempt to address or solve these
problems. Textbooks on this subject present neat compact chapters on a social
problem, reviewing the sociological issues and sometimes providing some
suggestions on how it can and should be addressed. This book follows the same
outline but instead takes a closer look at community-based approaches. This text will
not identify perfect solutions. We do not live in a perfect world. There may even be
some solutions that work but are no longer operating because of lack of funds or
public support. Social policies and programs have been effective in helping
individuals, families, or groups improve their lives and in reducing the prevalence
of particular problems. In addition, I will ask you to make the final connection to
social problems and solutions in your community. For this quarter or semester,
instead of focusing only on problems reported in your local newspaper or the
morning news program, start paying attention to the solutions offered by
professionals, leaders, and advocates. Through the Internet or through local
programs and agencies, take this opportunity to investigate what social action is
taking place in your community. Your community may include your campus, your
residential neighborhood, or the city where your university is located.
CONCLUSION
Social problems are hard to solve. They seem to be ingrained in the complex
web of unwanted state intervention, reckless forms of individual behaviour and
economic factors. Social problems have no commonly accepted forms of definition,
but they all have common factors that relate to them. In the problems that I listed
above, they are all seen from different perspectives and given different explanations.
It depends on who is viewing the problem. The media and the government also
contribute to making social problems hard to solve. Some social problems might be
downplayed and others blown out of proportion. Sometimes the intervention of the
government and experts may worsen a problem as they tend to look at the problem
form their own point of view, without taking the point of view of individual or groups
suffering the problems directly in to consideration.
Individuals can also make social problems difficult to solve. They may
mislead the government by providing incorrect data. Economic factors do play a
part. The government might not see some social problems as a top priority for them
to solve and thus will not earmark enough funds to tackle the problem. Sometimes,
the government may not have the political will to solve certain social problems.
Some social problems are interwoven in to our social, political and economic
structure, that to solve them, we will need to dismantle our entire structure. Finally,
there is no generally accepted way to solve social problems. Some solutions appear
easy, while others appear complex, but you cannot be certain, that the proffered
solution will solve the problem.
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7- www.scribd.com/document/461250748/sociology-gct1