1. Why must we ask ourselves wether the theory of functionalism can solve the problem of social change? Every living thing is in the state of moving or changing. Society is not stationary, but changing. If a general theory need reflect the general character of the object, the sociological theory which dose not, or cannot explain the phenomenon of social change is impossible to continue its existence as a scientific theory.
The subject of this article, threfore, is to critically study the nature of functionalism as the theory of social change.
2. There is a lot of sociological theories of social change, but they can be divided into two classes, 1) studies of the changes in the subsystem of society, and 2) studies about the change of society itself. And the latter is also classified into 3) studies of quantitative changes. 4) studies of developmental changes, and 5) studies of qualitative changes.
As social changes is the change of society itself, the theory of social change must be the study of qualitative change of society.
3. The essential element of sociological functionalism is the way of thinking society as a dynamic equilibrium system of number of interelated parts, and its indispensable concepts are equilibrium and interdependence.
Functionalism depending upon the concept of equilibrium, as a rule, focuses on the problem of totality in model-building of social system, and functionalism depending upon the concept of interdependence does on the problem of autonomy of subsystem. Talcott Parsons is a representative of the former, and Robert K. Merton is a representative of the latter.
We grasp the growing characteristics of sociological functionalism through the interaction and permeation between the two basic types. Then, we need pay attention to the third intermediate type which permeates and unifies the two.
4. The type 1 studies the organismic and pathological changes of society. The type 2 studies the social changes by community organization movement and social engineering techniques. And the type 3 studies the social changes in the welfare state and at a period of economic rapid growth.
Generally speaking, functional theory of social change is analysis of the mechanism which changes society, rather than by which society changes. Sociological functionalism, therefore, does not analyze the naturally and spontaneously developing process of history. It is the study of quantitative change instead of qualitative change.
