Problems...
The identification, by Parsons, of these four major "problems" provides us, as sociologists, with a clue to the basic organising principles of all human societies. These problems are, in short, the motor of human social organisation; they are problems that must be solved if human society is to exist.
However, of equal importance is the fact that the use of this idea not only allows us to account for things like how human societies develop and why they display general cultural similarities; it also allows us to account for the differences between societies, based on the specific cultural choices relating to the solution to each of these problems made by people in different societies. We can use an example drawn from family life to illustrate this idea.
For a society to exist over time (for example, to carry-on cultural traditions from one generation to the next) people have to solve the problem of socialisation (how to ensure that children are cared-for until they have learnt enough about their culture and society to take their place in adult society).
Thus, the family problem specifies the goal to which people must conform.
If they fail to conform, or they fail to achieve, this goal, their culture will die (history, for example, provides us with numerous examples of cultures that have ceased to exist). In this respect, we can note a basic form of cultural similarity here.
However, while the socialisation process is, in this respect, a functional prerequisite for cultural continuation (it is a problem all societies must solve), there may be different ways this basic goal can be reached. This reflects the idea of human choice and cultural diversity.
For example, in relation to the bearing and rearing of children;
- Some cultures argue that the best solution to this problem is to ensure that a child's natural parents perform this function.
- Other cultures argue that the best solution is to raise children communally, away from their natural parents and relatives.
Both of these viewpoints have their advantages and disadvantages.
We will return to - and develop - some of these ideas about cultural similarities and cultural diversity at a later point in the Pathway.