Parsons, Talcott (1902–1979)

Talcott Parsons was the foremost exponent of systems functionalism in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. He stated that a social system refers to any unit in which numerous interactions occur, ranging from the interactions, or interchanges, that take place between people, to those that take place between societies. Scholars may view society as a social system and the institution of law as one of its component subsystems.

Parsons contended that to operate effectively and remain viable, all social systems or subsystems must [Page 1094]meet four functional imperatives: (1) adaptation, (2) goal attainment, (3) integration, and (4) latency. While all social systems must satisfy all four of the functional imperatives, some subsystems (institutions) of total societies are particularly adept at performing one function. For instance, the economic system performs the adaptation function by controlling the environment for the purpose of producing and allocating those goods and services that satisfy the needs of a society as a whole.

The political system, or polity, fulfills the goalattainment function. The polity meets this functional requisite by identifying system objectives and mobilizing resources to that end. The function of latency pattern–maintenance refers to the individual in a social system having a motivational commitment to act in accordance with consensual normative expectations. Because society expects its members to conform to conventional behavior, it must provide institutionalized values that the individual internalizes, through the process of socialization. The educational, familial, and religious systems meet the latency pattern–maintenance function by inculcating individuals with society's shared values.

Parsons stated that the integrative function is principally concerned with maintaining internal harmony and mutual adjustments among the various subsystems of the social system. The legal system—and most notably the appellate courts and the legal profession—performs the integrative function by facilitating, or adjusting, the interchanges among the various subsystems, thereby creating social harmony.

Parsons identified three processes of adjustment that the legal system must use if it is effectively to perform its integrative function. First, it must articulate its laws at a high level of generality. Generality provides broad interpretations of the law, thus giving the various subsystems sufficient time and opportunity to adjust to the changing legal environment. Second, the legal system must have laws that are neither too rigid nor too flexible; that is, legislative, judicial, and administrative rulings and decisions need to be stated in such a way that social changes do not readily threaten their legitimacy or compromise their integrity. Third, for the legal system to adjust social interchanges, it must regulate an individual's behavior and minimize deviance. According to Parsons, the legal system needs to control individuals' motivations and sentiments by redefining what they want.