Question

How do the conflict theorists and functionalists understand social institutions?

Answer 1

 All social institutions wheter familial, religious, political, economic, educational, or legal will operate in the interest of the dominant sections of the society be it class, caste, tribe, or gender. The dominant social section not only dominates the political and economic institutions but also ensures that the ideas of the ruling class becomes the ruling ideas of the society.

Social institutions exist to satisfy social needs.Institutions such as family and religion are informal social institutions and law and education are formal social institutions.

A functionalist view understands social institutions as a complex set of social norms, beliefs, values and roles that arise in response to the needs of the society. We also find informal and formal social institutions.