Durkheim and Parsons versus Karl Marx: Competing Theories of Social Order and Social Conflict

Описание: This Legacy Lab episode delivers a clear, engaging, and academically grounded comparison of Functionalism and Conflict Theory through the foundational work of Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Karl Marx. The video breaks down how each theorist explains social order, institutions, inequality, and power, showing how society is understood either as a system seeking stability and cohesion or as a battlefield shaped by class struggle and domination.

Using concrete examples from education, law, capitalism, and class structure, the lesson demonstrates how functionalists view schools, governments, and social norms as mechanisms that maintain social stability, while conflict theorists expose how these same institutions reproduce inequality and protect elite interests. Viewers will gain a clear understanding of how consensus, norms, and shared values differ from power, exploitation, and economic control as explanations for how society operates.

Perfect for sociology students, teachers, and anyone studying classical social theory, this episode supports exam preparation, lectures, and independent learning by translating complex theory into accessible, memorable explanations. It highlights the relevance of Durkheim’s social solidarity, Parsons’ systems theory, and Marx’s critique of capitalism in understanding modern social problems, from educational inequality to legal power and class conflict.