Discussion on Sociology (Essay Sample)

Sociology
Sociology according to Tischer (2013) is the study of the human society and its interaction. It focuses on the whole group and not a single individual. Sociology attempts to understand the factors that shape and influence a community to behave in a particular manner and adapt various kinds of customs and beliefs. Ballantine and Robert (2014) define sociology as “the study of social life, social change and the social causes and consequence of human behavior”. It is a discipline that aims at clearing defining and examining the social aspects of the human society.
It discusses the culture of different communities, the norms and values and how they affect and influence the society as a whole. According to Ballantine and Robert, sociology, aims at explaining why people interact with each other and tend to associate themselves with groups. It also analyzes the rules that regulate the behaviors and attitude and points out the causes of social problems. One of the fields of sociology include political science, it examines the different angles of the government. It considers how power is obtained, maintained and applied. Political scientists also study the election polls and predict who will win the election (Ballantine &Robert, 2014).
Sociology explains the various political systems, in particular, the American system using various theories and perspectives. Ballantine and Robert (2014) propose three methods of power. They are the interaction theory, the functional theory, and the conflict theory. The interaction theory states that some representations of reality offer some people power enabling them to rule over others. However, the approach presents a significant cutback that reduces its applicability. The subjects have to accept and obey those granted the power that never ease in some cases. The functional theory suggests that citizens are the founders of political systems (Ballantine & Robert, 2014). They supported and chose their political representative by exercising their voting rights. They do this because the government performs various functions in return. The conflict theory supposes that the government protects a minority group thus making it more superior and creating inequality. This approach is similar to the power elite theory (Ballantine & Robert, 2014).
The power elite theory, as illustrated by Domhoff (2005), suggest that an elite group governs all societies. The group may be a political, non-profit or corporate organization. The elite group rules but the citizens have the mandate to set its limits. The theory states that the working class and the capitalist are rivals who are interrelated though different. The working class forms unions that cooperate with the capitalist. The capitalist leaders create their class of wealthy individuals. These individuals can influence the masses using their resources. The working class suffers and become subjects. The capitalist perceive the worker's unions as their enemies and do anything to abolish them. The union rarely win the battles and are always defeated leaving them second best (Domhoff, 2005). The elite theory, however, does not mention the social classes and thus fails to completely define the American political system (Domhoff, 2005). It ignores the fact that the various social classes influence the political arena. The wealthy classes finance and support the politicians.
Other theories include the pluralist theory. The theory state that power is not monopolized by a particular group as it is distributed across many groups who hold different types of power (Domhoff, 2005). The leaders compete for political forces while the capitalist seek financial capabilities. The government remains neutral due to the relationship between the elected and the electorate. It acts as a judge. The people bestow power through a democratic system of voting. The voluntary groups make up interest groups that are non-political (Domhoff, 2005). The society follows an egalitarian system that caters to the needs of all parties involved. The theory also introduces neo-pluralism that brings forth a new form of liberalism where major foundations lead to the formation of new interest groups. These groups are dependent on the corporate communities who sponsor them (Domhoff, 2005). The pluralist theory defines the American political scene as described above.
On the other hand, the state autonomy theory illustrates the political scene in a different manner. It suggests that the government holds the power and is an independent body due to the monopoly its holds on the legitimate use of force (Domhoff, 2005). Additionally, the ability of the government to protect its citizens against foreign threats and its regulation and imposition of taxes makes it powerful. The theory introduces independent experts who may be powerful as they have valuable information. However, their ideas are criticized and discussed by corporate leaders.
The state autonomy theory suggests that the state can be captured and thus be potentially autonomous. It uses the growing budget and increase in employment opportunities as evidence that USA is an independent country. However, the government can increase and still be controlled by a minority community and its size cannot be used as a measure of control (Domhoff, 2005). The American state has states, counties, and towns and for this reason it is not unified. In America, the private organizations sometimes work together with the parastatals. This factor thus establishes the fact that the American government is not a sovereign state as a sovereign state is unified and bears no regard for groups in the private sector (Domhoff, 2005). Though America is the most powerful nation, the government does not control everything. The Marxism theory is another theory that attempts to define the American political system. It suggests that industrialization and the application of modern techniques lead to surplus food production (Domhoff, 2005). The surplus production created a distribution dilemma and introduced the division and specialization of labor. The firm formed different positions thus separated the superiors and subordinate staff. It also created ownership and the need to control the property. These forces in turn influenced the formation of political institutions as there was a dire need for order in the society (Domhoff, 2005). Political systems like that in America are results of this gap. Ruane and Cerulo (2015) define law as a dominant factor in the American society. The people play a part in the formation of rules. The organization follows the rules and applies them to their daily encounters.
Capitalism is also a result of the development attained (Domhoff, 2005). The economic growth created profit from the market that was deemed unfair as the workers were exploited to benefit the owners. The capitalist made profit from using the human resource. The workers in turn formed unions to advocate their rights. The practiced capitalism changed to socialism gradually which caters for the benefits of everyone. The hard earned products are owned by the whole community in a socialist world (Domhoff, 2005). Democracy replaces the market. The people chose their representatives. Domhoff (2005) states that capitalism self-destructs and results in socialism which develops into communism.
The two party system in USA, as defined by Tischer (2013), follows a procedure where the “winner takes it all.” The candidates compete to maintain relevance and fight for the support of the interest groups. It is a mutual benefiting relationship. The exchange theory stipulates that a man acts because of what he/she receives in return. The exchange affects the way people behave towards each other in the future (Effrat, 1972). The interest groups endorse a candidate who will advocate their views. In the case of the USA political system, the Democrat Party has the support of the lower class and minority communities. It in turn enacts legislation that aids the people. On the other hand, the Republican Party enjoys the support of the middle and upper class and receives funding from large co-operations (Tischer, 2013). The parties compete for the biggest group with the highest number of voter or can best provide financial aid.
The two party system best caters for the needs of the American people. The Democrat and Republican Party represent all kinds of people in the US. The two parties system is beneficial as the losing party ensures that the ruling party fulfills all of its promises. It maintains the checks and balances and ensures that the country avoids the adverse effects of a multiparty system. Changing the number of political parties will alter the political system. It is hard to change a single aspect and expect the other parties to remain intact. As Effrat, (1972) mentions when making distinctions of the characteristics of a political system, it is crucial to establish whether or not they are essential for the maintenance of its identity. The political system in American is stable and considered as one of the best forms of democracy and thus requires no adjustment.
The above mentioned theories try to define the American political system. Some of them do not cater for all the aspects and create a lot of questions. They elaborate different aspects of the system. The theories are very different, but some of them share a similar perception with some regards. The elite and Marxism theory both introduce the capitalist who are viewed as superior and hold the power. The pluralist theory speaks of division of authority while the elite theory maintains that only a chosen few can control others. The pluralist theory best explains the system. It elaborates the division of power and the capacity of the government as an impartial judge that only monitors the country. Sociology has clearly defined the American political system. The system has undergone a lot of changes and developed. During the industrialization period, it may have been recognized using the elite theory as the major companies and upper social class controlled the nation. However, in the recent times it is viewed as pluralist as the power is distributed across the country. The market is controlled by the large corporations as the political leaders govern the citizens. Sociology will also be able to elaborate the political scene no matter which ever turn it takes.

References
Ballantine, J. H., & Roberts, K. A. (2014). Our social world: Introduction to sociology.
Domhoff, W. (2005). Who Rules America? Sociology Department, University of California at Santa Cruiz.
Effrat, A. (1972). Perspective in Political Sociology. .Ardent Media.
Ruane, J. M., & Cerulo, K. A. (2015). Second thoughts: Sociology challenges conventional wisdom.
Tischler, H. L. (2013). Introduction to sociology. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth.