Structure Vs. Agency: The Never-Ending Debate

structure vs agency, the never-ending debate among sociology discussion. Some people may argue that the agent’s decisions are entirely based on greater powers like cultural, political, and economic influences, while agency would counter that an individual has total management of their own life.
First of all, I would like to argue that there are certain circumstances and situations that would make agency valid. You could say that agency signifies that an individual has complete control, which I partially agree with. An individual can worsen or better his/her current situation based off their decisions. In my opinion, these decisions are played out mostly in part of the level of intellectuality that the person possesses. Others may argue that …show more content…
However, that may be true, but it’s not entirely accurate, if the children of a low-income family allow themselves to become a statistic, then sure there is a greater structure that influences the lives of people. Nevertheless, the reason that I don’t entirely agree with the structure is because I for example come from a low-income family that migrated from Colombia. For a newly arrived family, resources came short, and besides my parents’ wishes to put me in a catholic school, I had no choice but to attend a public school just like most kids in the Springfield area did. As you may know Springfield public schools don’t have the best reputation for their teaching standards. Not to mention the youth within Springfield have dark tendencies. I could have …show more content…
This could signify yearly household income, a person’s debts, and maybe even spending habits. It’s safe to say that if the United States economy crashed tomorrow, a profuse amount of people would lose their jobs making this catastrophe influence them to do many things like gorge on alcohol or seek a different job that would support them in the meantime. Families of higher income could also be more motivated to ensure that their children have the best shot they possibly can while it’s also true that a lower income family could be more inclined to criminality. Like I said before, I consider one of the biggest roles in a structure to be culture. Culture can set apart a person who wants to get ahead in life from a person who wants to have no positive contribution to the community. In my earlier example, where I explained that I chose not to be another statistic by choosing a favorable path was because of the way I was raised and the way I grew up. My father had me at an older age and so the majority of my adolescent life I was raised by an old sage that had more experience in his life than all my siblings put together. I was taught what was right from wrong and what I had to do to get ahead of the game. My judgment was almost always influenced by what my parents taught me. Till this day my eighty-six-year-old father continues to teach me the ways of life while being a big part of who I am