Functionalism

Definition

A functional explanation can take this general form:

The theoretical status of s can either be stationary (the most frequent case) or dynamic. If one can, with respect to a certain theoretical point of reference, claim a systematic relationship between a and s, then E can be interpreted as a “function” for, or a as a “functional contribution” to, the maintenance of S, whether it means stability, identity, equilibrium, or changing of S. This explanation of s neither involves an explication of a's origin nor the causal nexus of its effect on s. For example, a political party can be considered as contributing to the working democracy without constructing this function as the cause of its creation.

Functional explanations are based on empirical evidence: After s and a have been observed, the functional character of the relationship between them can be deduced from the features of T and E. Of course, these explanations can be formulated with a teleological orientation: as a projection of a future s, derived from T as a goal-orientated agent, under the assumption that a's effect on S is a functional prerequisite for the maintenance of it. In case there is a deliberately role-differentiated organization under consideration, such a prognosis will become normative. It will express the expectation that S, as a whole, will function in the way prescribed by its blueprint.

However, functional explanations make sense only under several conditions. For example, if one states that general and free elections in parliamentary systems have the “function” of maintaining the circulation of political elites, then a bottom-up nomination of candidates is assumed, but other functions (such as lawmaking or representation) are not, however, excluded. Functional analyses are based on theoretical assumptions, but they hardly suggest new ones by themselves. According to the widespread usage of functional explanations, systems can be represented as institutions, religious behavior patterns, cultures, societies, and so on, whereas a may operate as a kind of activity, exchange, information, sanction, service, coercion, production, and other forms of output.

Origins

Functionalism, as a tradition or “school,” culminated in the 1950s and 1960s. However, its origins can be found in the works of many of the classic social and political theorists. Charles de Montes quieu may be considered such an early proto-functionalist thinker. In his chief work Spirit of Laws (1748), he classified the components of political systems in terms of their physical, geographic, climatic, mental, and cultural “nature”—that is, the structure of their external systems. The respective legal principles activate the “natural” structures toward an outcome of political order by which the subjects are reminded of their duties and rights. The privileges of nobility, for instance, are a function of its freedom, whereas parliamentary power is one of the principles of constitutional monarchy. At the same time, Montesquieu tried to make it clear that important political functions can often hide behind ostensibly incidental or useless symbols and ways of acting.

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