Functionalist and Conflict Perspectives in the U.S.

The Functionalist Perspective sees society as a system. Regarding the technology gap facing the poor and minorities, a functionalist perspective would cover this issue based on the society's consensus due to their core beliefs and values. If there would be a technology gap with the poor and minorities, there would have to be a reason for the gap to be occurring. There can be a positive and negative side to the technology gap with the poor and minorities, such as; it is a downfall due to them not being able to learn new things, and experience the world of technology. On the other hand, the positive is that it creates a building block for our government to get technology available for both poor and minorities. The conflict perspective draws much of its inspiration from Karl Marx and argues that the structure of society and the nature of social relationships are the result of past and ongoing conflicts. This perspective is basically saying that the technology gap with poor and minorities in the United States is based on these two certain groups. This issue is also focused on conflicts in our society, such as; the war in Iraq, poverty, and even our government. Symbolic interactionists' perspective argued that society is likely because we, as human beings have the ability to communicate with one another by means of symbols and words. Once again, the problem with the technology gap in the United States with minorities and the poor can also be from different situations, based on their specific backgrounds. According to the looking-glass self theory, if these minorities and the poor are getting certain reactions from the government because of the technology gap, how they view themselves is either going to go up or down. In conclusion, all of these perspectives and theories are different, and are going to have different outlooks due to the technology gap in minorities and the poor in the United States. To say which viewpoint is correct can vary from person to person.