ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the second part of this book. The part contributes to the debate over functionalism or structural-functionalism in sociology. It is concerned with criticizing the critics of the Davis- Moore theory, several of whom themselves used functionalist arguments, as with adding to the growing critical literature on functionalism in general and the Davis-Moore theory in particular. The part deals with the issues that it raises, but it also relates the discussion of class to the problem of "community" and defense against anomie. The protest movements of the 1960s were for the most part not class-based, but appealed to groups sharing either racial, ethnic, national, sex, or age or generational bonds. The part discusses the difficulty in America of disentangling the various group characteristics, including class, from one another as influences on outlook and behavior. It deals concretely with American society rather than with issues in stratification theory.
