Background of functionalism
Structural Functionalism in its most basic terms emphasizes the effort to impute as rigorously as possible to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system (Bourricaud, 94). Under the theory of functionalism, all parts of a society’s structure are just organs that work together to ensure the proper function of the social body as a whole. This paper will be about how Functionalism is used by Hugo Chavez’s government to preserve the Marxist Venezuelan state.
Advocates of functionalism
One of the most popular proponents of Functionalism was Herbert Spencer. He was one of the first to propose the idea of a “super-organic” body supported by a number of sub-organs. He was also influenced by Darwinist philosophies because he believe that the “super-organic” was always under siege from internal and external pressures and it had to adapt its internal workings by differentiation. Spencer postulates that there are three factors that create a need for this selection regulatory, operative and distributive pressures. For him, society must learn to solve the inherent problems of control and coordination, the production of goods and services and also uncover ways of properly disseminating them. If his theory is followed then it explains how Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arouse to become the chief or “big man” of his country to take control of the levers of power.
A later theorist named Robert Merton came up with his own ideas about functionalism. He criticized existing theories because he believed that not all the parts of society exist to support its existence. Instead, some institutions can have other functions or even be dysfunctional. Certain organs may functions for some societies while being utterly dysfunctional for others and vice versa. In other words, some organs only function for a dominant individual or a group (Holmwood, 91). Hence there is a level of power and coercion in functionalism. Merton also proposed that there can be alternatives to existing social organs such that existing organs are not indispensable to society. This last statement is a major innovation on the part of Merton since in the past those who taught functionalism always supported the status quo and did not offer the possibility of an alternative.
Critics of functionalism
Functionalism has come under fire because as a social theory it does not account for the possibility of social change and social conflict. Another criticism is that functionalism is teleological. In other words, it describes societies and their organs entirely by their effects and does not dwell upon the reasons why those organs have those effects. Finally, there is the criticism that a society unlike a person, can not have needs. While society can have needs they can be fulfilled or unfulfilled and unlike a person, it will continue to exist even if the needs are not met, contrast this with wants.
In relation to Marxism, the form of government that is in Valenzuela, functionalism is criticized for being partisan and promoting advanced welfare capitalism (Holmwood, 103). By comparison, Marxism seeks to promote the advancement of socialist dialect and criticized existing state organs as a means to perpetuate the hold of capitalism in society. Despite this conflict between the two opposing views, it is apparent that Venezuela’s Marxist government is putting functionalism to good use in maintaining its hold on power.
Venezuela is one of the last bastions of Marxism in the world
Venezuela is one of the last bastions of Marxism in the world. Together with Cuba, it is the only state in the Americas that still believes in socialism as a valid form of governance. Its president Hugo Chavez is a card-carrying member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) which is a close ally of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV). Their names alone suggest a close allegiance to Marxist doctrines and the socialist agenda those doctrines promote. Since the start of the Bolivarian Revolution in 1998, these parties have remained in power thanks in part to the cunning of Hugo Chavez and his careful manipulation of the State’s organs.
Venezuela is the fifth-largest producer/exporter of oil. When Chavez took over the government in 1998 he made radical changes to strengthen Venezuela’s leverage as an oil producer. At the time he took power the Oil Cartel OPEC was failing in its purpose to protect the interests of oil-producing nations. Countries were no longer obeying the Oil production quota and depressing the prices of oil. This was very bad for Venezuela because oil was one of its major exports. Chavez went around the world to help strengthen OPEC. He even went so far as hosting the first OPEC summit in 25 years (Wilpert, 2008). This is already a good example of the use of the diplomatic organs of state to promote the survival of the Chavez regime. The government was well aware that since Oil was an important industry and an excellent source of money to support the government’s agenda. Hence it was imperative that Venezuela receive the best value for its money. Here the government is pushing its agenda of controlling the value of its production of oil.
The reinstatement of quotas that were brought about by adherence to Opec was not welcomed universally. The Venezuelan oil company, PDVSA, went on strike in December of 2002 halting vital oil production. They considered the government as a whole to be dysfunctional and demanded early elections. This is an example of how social organs may benefit the majority but not certain groups as proposed by Merton. In this case, Venezuela as a whole prospered to a degree because the high oil prices meant that a lot of money was flowing into the country and being used to fund social programs benefiting the majority. The minority, PDVSA, suffered because it was geared toward maximizing oil output and the reduction in production meant that much of their workforce was idle. The plan of PDVSA backfired as the government simply fired the striking workers. Hence the PDVSA oil strike is a classic example of the power and coercion found in functionalism. The PDVSA was too weak to coerce action and the other state organs simply crushed their ‘rebellion’.
The Oil strike of 2002 and the dislocations that occurred because of it caused a considerable amount of chaos in the country. Hence Chavez was forced to renationalize the oil industry to return it to good production efficiency. This also allowed the government to claim a larger share in the oil revenues. The president claimed that this was his way of redistributing a greater portion of the profits to the people. Royalty payment from oil went up to 30% of the price double from what it was from pre-strike levels. These actions are a continuation of the efforts by the Chavez government to use the oil industry as leverage to fund its social projects to provide better for its people which are mostly poor. This form of leverage is very important because the poor people in Venezuela are the prime source of votes and support for the socialists and if they are displeased the Marxists may soon find themselves out of power.
The Church is another important functional organ of the Venezuelan state. Like all Latin American states, Venezuela was originally a colony of Europeans at the time when Europeans were still a very religious people. As a result, they transplanted their Christian religion to the natives and their descendants. Hence to this day the Church still plays a very major role in their lives. Marxist’s ideology speaks against religions in general calling religion the “Opiate of the masses” because it is a way to pacify the working class and prevent them from revolting they said. Due to the highly religious nature of the Venezuelan people suppressing religion was not feasible in Venezuela. A sort of truce exists between the Marxist government and the Church in Venezuela. A live and let live policy exists where the Marxists allow the Church to subsist without too much trouble. This helps pacify the people of Venezuela because the Church has a moderating influence on people who would otherwise rise up if they felt oppressed. Hence even if the Church is not strictly a state organ it serves a function for the survival of the state. History has shown, Mexico is a prime example, that socialist regimes in Latin America that try to suppress the Church.
A foreign relation is a powerful tool in Venezuela’s arsenal. Venezuela has kept friendly relations with its neighboring Latin American States and Western countries. The exception to this rule is the United States since the 2002 Oil Strikes and the coup d’état where the United States imprudently recognized the validity of the regime of Pedro Carmona. Hence it is was only natural that the ties between Chavez’s government and the U.S. have cooled. Furthermore, Venezuela has been building close ties to states which are not allied to the United States as if they were trying to form an alternative to the U.S.-dominated Organization of American States. There is also a string of Venezuelan activity on the international scene that has run contrary to what the United States wanted. For example, Venezuela recognized South Ossetia when the United States insisted that the new state was illegitimate. It would appear that Venezuela is trying to establish a multi-polar world by creating a power-bloc among third-world countries. The function of this is to raise the profile of Venezuela to that of a seeming competitor of the United States. This serves two functions. First, it increases the national pride and prestige of the average Venezuelan making him feel exalted that his nation is growing in power so much so that it is competing on the world stage with the World’s only remaining superpower. This pride translates to support as the common rally behind their brave leaders. The second function it serves is precisely the uplifting of the Venezuelan state on the world stage. By tracing a bold path in world affairs Venezuela is earning the respect of its neighbors who will admire its independence of American policy dictated by the United States.
The military is another functional state organ that helps preserve the Marxist state. Venezuela has a military with over 100,000 soldiers, it is well paid and well-motivated thanks in part to the government’s oil monopoly. While unrest is not a major factor in Venezuela the army exists and as the 2002 coup shows can easily be turned against any potential rebels. The military is a functional organ that guarantees Hugo Chavez and his cohorts will endure because for as long as the Venezuelan army is loyal to the government there is very little chance for an armed uprising to succeed. While this is not as glaring or apparent, Hugo Chavez and his regime are, in part, propped up by a loyal military that easily intimidates any rivals.
Even the economic growth that has occurred and the prosperity it brings to Venezuela is an effective state organ in preserving the Marxists in power. One of Chavez’s main bases of power is the poor of Venezuela. Economic growth eventually trickles down to the poor who feel that their prosperity is increasing. Hence they are less inclined to reject or oppose the socialist reforms that Chavez is trying to impose on the country. This is in keeping with Marxist ideology because the poor, typically the working class and the downtrodden were supposed to be uplifted in a Marxist government. In the Venezuelan context, wealth slowly trickles to the poor via the improving economy or through social programs put in place by the government. These actions serve a function similar to the Church by reducing any simmering discontent the people may have against their new rulers.
“Twenty-first-century socialism” and the dogma that is attached to it is another efficient state organ that exists to perpetuate the Marxists in power. The idea of a modern kind of socialism is supported by the students and the middle class. When Chavez came to power in 1998 people honestly believed that he was a great reformer. His current performance would suggest that he is. The majority of the people, particularly the poor and the intellectuals, have supported his reforms as necessary although clouds are beginning to gather. In 2006 Chavez held a referendum trying to impose a new constitution on the country the referendum failed. The Venezuelan people were not willing to surrender more rights to the government than it already has. This would suggest that the functionalist systems put into place by Chavez were beginning to fail in their objective of keeping the people pacified and supportive of the Chavez regime. However, this would not be so. The 2008 elections showed that the people continued to vote overwhelmingly in support of Chavez and his political party has continued to dominate the provincial and national legislatures. This is despite the fact that unlike in 2005 the opposition parties vigorously contested the elections. The party-dominated legislature is another functionalist organ that helps preserve the state. Since the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) members dominate the legislature there is no doubt that in the event that laws need to be passed perpetuating the regime the legislature will be most accommodating to any needs of Chavez.
Conclusion
In conclusion, functionalism is a positivist theory that proposed that States are similar to human bodies in that they also need vital organs to survive. Unlike the biological organs of a human being, State organs are organizations that function to preserve the existence of the state against external and internal pressures. The government itself is the largest functionalist organ of the Marxist government in Venezuela because is the government that allows the creation and preservation of the instruments or state organs which the Chavez government relies on heavily to preserve its continued existence. It is via the instruments of government that Chavez as president can solve the inherent problems of control and coordination. As president and head of the dominant political party, he is able to control the instruments of dissemination. Finally thanks to the pervasive and socialist nature of the government he is able to control the levels of goods and services produced, as evinced by the recent scuffles his government had with oil production monopoly PDVSA that nearly cost Chavez his regime.
However, the functionalist nature of the government only benefits the majority or at least the majority it claims to represent the descamisados of the poor. Socialist programs are being enforced in the state with the stated view of alleviating the poverty and suffering of the common people. However such aid comes at the expense of frequently inefficient government centralized programs. The inefficiency of the programs comes from the fact that a centralized aid program frequently becomes inflexible and unable to adapt to specific needs which would not be seen save by those who are on the ground in the poorest provinces themselves. If the socialist programs were truly working for the entire country then there would no viable opposition party since they would have no supporters. Instead, despite the near-total dominance of Chavez and his party in the political scene a vibrant and active opposition remains to contest power with him.
Ironically, in the effort to keep itself in power the functionalist Marxist regime in Venezuela is forced to make some unorthodox compromises. For example, Marxism is traditionally the enemy of organized religion. Yet in the Venezuelan context, the State can not easily ignore the influence and power of the Church. Hence instead of trying to suppress the Church like other more radical socialist regimes like China and Cuba have tried to do. Venezuela’s government has adopted a live and let live policy with respect to the Church. Also even if Marx originally proposed that the state would eventually wither away in a truly socialist regime, the opposite is occurring in Venezuela. Despite being a socialist regime, Venezuela’s government has been noticeably trying to concentrate power into the hands of the President and his allies. Showing that instead of weakening the state is become stronger and stronger. A final irony is that Chavez and his regime are heavily supported by intellectuals and students in contrast to the normally logger-heads attitude of the same against a communist or socialist government. All these contradictions point to one thing. Chavez et al. control a functionalist state that is at best nominally socialist. It will employ all the means at its disposal to remain in power. Fair and foul means have been used in the past and will continue to be used to ensure that Chavez and his cronies will remain in power. The state organs are being manipulated to provide the basis of support and to suppress any possible sources of dissent.
Reference
Bourricaud, F. The Sociology of Talcott Parsons Chicago University Press. ISBN 0-226-067564. p. 94
Holmwood, J., (2005) “Functionalism and its Critics” in Harrington, A., (ed) Modern Social Theory: an introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 87–109
Gregory Wilpert. “The Economics, Culture, and Politics of Oil in Venezuela”.
Shifter, Michael. “A New Path for Latin America?” Annual Editions: World Politics.Helen Purkitt, ed.New York: McGraw-hill,2010:103-104.
Ellner, Stever.”Chavez Wins Again.” In These Times.