Structural-Functionalist Theory

Theories treating a society as a system of interdependent parts each serving a stabilizing function, the paradigm founded by Comte and Spencer, developed by Durkheim and formalized mid-century by Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton, including Durkheim's own concept of anomie, a breakdown of social norms, and Ferdinand Tonnies distinction between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, community bound by personal ties against society bound by impersonal exchange, read here as a structural-functionalist precursor concept. Belongs here: a theory or concept explaining social order through interdependent structures or functions. Does not belong here: a theory explaining social change through group conflict rather than functional stability, grouped under Conflict and Critical Theory.