Sociological Perspective

From a sociological point of view, health and illness play an important role in society. Structural functionalist’s see society as interrelated parts that function to maintain balance within the society. Each individual within a society has designated roles that they must perform in order to do their part within a society. According to this paradigm, illness is seen as a dysfunction as it inhibits an individual from performing their designated role, threatening the balance and stability of the society. When the minority of people in a society are ill, it does not affect society in a major way. However, as more and more individuals become ridden with illness and disease, society may not be able to maintain the balance needed to function properly. …show more content…
The sick role, as expressed by structural functionalist Talcott Parsons, explains that there are certain expectations of behavior for those who are sick and those who care for the sick. They have rights and responsibilities and are exempt from their normal roles in society; however, the sick person may only be exempt from their roles in society for as long as they are legitimately sick. Legitimatization of an illness is required from a doctor in order to be able to take on the sick role, and maintaining the sick role longer than legitimatized is considered to be wrong. This paradigm gives all of the power to the doctors that are able to legitimatize an illness, but this power can have negative consequences for the individual. Conflict theorists considers how capitalism and the competition for limited resources affects the functioning of society. As a capitalist society, Americans strive to make a profit in any way that they possibly can, leading to the commodification of everything, including our basic needs such as food, water, shelter, and …show more content…
This ensures that they maintain their healthcare access, while the subordinate group stays subordinate because their lack of access is maintained. As long as health stays a commodity, the poor are more likely to experience illness caused by a lack of access to healthy food, and unhealthy living and work environments. This is preferred by the dominant group, as poor and sick people are less likely to challenge the system. Conflict theorists are more likely to argue against a universal healthcare system, as it would guarantee access to healthcare for everyone. They argue that the current system is working well, and that may be the case for them, but for those who cannot afford the current cost of insurance, the current system is flawed. From a symbolic interactionalist perspective, health and illness are socially constructed concepts. What is considered healthy and what is considered to be illness is something that is determined by the people of the society as a whole. Medicalization of deviance has led to social acceptance of bad behaviors as sick behaviors, such as alcoholism and drug