Sociology 2LL3 group 6 activity 1
The video “Structural Functionalism & Talcott Parsons” discussed Parsons’ contribution to the theory of structural functionalism. The main tenet of this theory is that individuals and culture fulfill a role and function to support the structure of society. Additionally, the video “Sociology — Theodor Adorno” discussed Adorno’s interest in culture and how it relates to capitalism. Adorno believed that the culture industry destroyed leisure time as it distracts individuals from the real issues in the world. He also believed that capitalism doesn’t sell us the things we need, rather, an individual’s true desires are shielded by the capitalist industry. This is done to distract individuals, so they end up forgetting what they truly need and instead settle for goods manufactured for them by companies who solely care about the bottom line, not the welfare of their customers or employees.
The overlap in the videos about these theorists is their emphasis on the role of culture in supporting capitalist societies. As a structural-functionalist, Parsons believed that culture functions to support the structure of capitalist societies. Adorno also believed that culture functions to support capitalist societies. Since culture in capitalist societies promotes the sales of commodities, Adorno identified ways that culture promoted the sales of commodities, and thus supported the structure of society. For example, he noted that culture distracted individuals from real issues in the world by constantly advertising false desires to them. In this way, Adorno argues that culture supports the structure of capitalist societies because it promotes the sales of commodities. Therefore, both theorists overlap with regards to the emphasis placed on the role of culture in supporting capitalist societies.
Parsons’ perspective on how culture supports the structure of society can help us understand the use of underpaid labour in fast fashion companies. In capitalist societies, culture encourages companies to accumulate profit. A common way that fast fashion companies maximize their accumulation of profit is by outsourcing labour to developing countries and underpaying labourers. Therefore, we can understand the use of underpaid labourers from fast fashion companies by applying Parsons’ perspective of how culture supports the structure of society. Since culture encourages the accumulation of profit, fast fashion companies resort to underpaid labourers to maximize their accumulation of profit.
Adorno’s perspective can be applied to understand the secrecy of the practice of underpaying labourers within fast fashion companies. Adorno believed that the culture industry likes to keep citizens distracted from the true issues in the world by selling things that individuals don’t need. The fast fashion industry keeps consumers distracted from their unethical practice of underpaying their labourers by continuously advertising clothes that individuals don’t need. As a result, consumers settle for the goods manufactured for them by these companies and don’t realize that the clothes are made by underpaid workers. Through distracting consumers, these companies can get away with underpaying their labourers and maximizing profit. These companies do this in pursuit of greater accumulation of wealth, which has been emphasized by culture. Therefore, Adorno’s beliefs shed light on the role of culture and the secrecy that it involves with regards to underpaid labour from fast fashion companies.
In sum, both Parsons’ and Adorno’s beliefs regarding the importance of culture in supporting the structure of society help shed light on the issue of underpaid workers, as the practice of underpaying labourers is created from culture’s emphasis on the accumulation of profit.
This paper was written by Group 6 for Sociology 2LL3. The members are as follows: Sarah Bowron, Dana Chambers, Hassan Khalid and Rafay Nadeem.
