Summary
The COVID-19 outbreak impacted livelihoods not just through a spike in mortality vulnerability but also through quarantine efforts. Initially, the focus was on the medical consequences of the epidemic; however, its socioeconomic implications and concomitant policy measures are also garnering more emphasis, notably in low-income nations. The World Bank estimates that between 40 and 60 million individuals in sub-Saharan Africa could be severely impoverished due to COVID-19 (Baena-Díez et al. 699). Moreover, a 20% decline in income and expenditure would drive between 420 and 580 million people into poverty, overturning years of falling poverty levels (Baena-Díez et al. 699). This research paper examines COVID-19 from a functionalist viewpoint, enumerating how each component of civilizations failed, their impacts on one another throughout the period, and the time required to recover. In addition, the study explores the parties with the most influence during the outbreak and those that benefited the most from the COVID-19 pandemic from a conflict viewpoint.
Functionalist Viewpoint
According to functionalism, civilization is more than the sum of its parts; each component contributes to the well-being of the whole. Durkheim viewed society as a living organism because each constituent serves an essential purpose yet cannot function independently. When one section of a system encounters a catastrophe, others must adjust in some manner to fill the hole. According to functionalists, the many sections of society are essentially made up of social structures, each structured to meet specific needs. Household, state, commerce, media, schooling, and religion are essential to comprehending this paradigm and sociology’s fundamental entities.
As per the functionalist theory, an organization only exists because it is essential to society’s operation. If an entity no longer fulfills its purpose, it will perish. When new requirements arise or evolve, new frameworks will be established to accommodate them. In many civilizations, the administration pays for training the family’s offspring, who then contribute the taxes the country needs to operate. The household depends on learning institutions to prepare the kids for successful careers that will allow them to raise and sustain their families. In the course, the children develop into law-abiding, tax-paying state supporters. If all proceeds smoothly from a functionalist standpoint, the pieces of society provide order, safety, and prosperity. If things do not go as planned, the community must adjust to develop new types of control, stability, and production.
In the case of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, functionalism explains how the components of the society collapsed and their impacts on each other. Firstly, the outbreak caught many health institutions unprepared for medical equipment to meet the needs of the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Secondly, the epidemic greatly impacted commercial activities, and the majority were forced to close due to containment measures and cutbacks in demand and personnel medical conditions. Moreover, the termination of business processes was caused by disruptions in the distribution networks of various businesses. Quarantine meant a stop of production activities for businesses, thus a reduction in income levels and profitability.
Thirdly, workers, including medical practitioners, ordinarily employed citizens, and entrepreneurs, were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the closure of numerous businesses and confinement approaches by different governments. As such, most individuals were left unemployed with no salary or reduced wages, lowering their income levels. In the case of healthcare personnel, their work schedules were interrupted due to the spike in people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourthly, the government was forced to spend extra on services and infrastructure since little to no taxes were collected from individuals. This resulted in laborers being laid off from work and firm owners closing down their businesses to reduce the spread of the virus.
Lastly, learning institutions, from kindergartens to tertiary education, were closed to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus among students. Therefore, as explained above, the influences the five parts that make up the society had on each other are as follows as per the functionalist theory. Businesses, schools, and workers who pay taxes in the form of various fees charged to them by the government in return for different services were unable to, rendering administrations incapable of offering such solutions. Healthcare institutions failed to operate effectively due to states’ lack of preparedness to combat the pandemic. Since jurisdictions were not receiving taxes from organizations, personnel, and learning institutions, their spending level on purchasing equipment such as personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical practitioners was constrained.
In rebuilding the various components of society while considering the pandemic’s effects, numerous governments resorted to online instructional programs to keep learning institutions operational. Since it was not projected when the virus would be fully combated, e-learning was used as an alternative to face-to-face education to ensure learners were engaged. This move would ensure that students completed their studies on time and that the education system was not paralyzed. Numerous administrations provided economic handouts to employees and businesses. For instance, the US Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides economic assistance to workers and organizations throughout the catastrophe (Jones and Andrew 3). The Act includes a clause for joblessness, incentive payments for qualified taxpayers, and a lease embargo, among other features.
Moreover, governments altered the statutory advantages and leave entitlements in several areas. For instance, between April and December 2020, US private firms with less than 500 personnel got full compensation for the expense of giving paid leave linked to COVID-19, as enumerated herein. Firstly, two weeks up to eighty hours of paid sick leave at 100% of income if the individual cannot work due to confinement or a diagnosis of COVID-19 (Hamilton 830). Secondly, two weeks at 2/3 wage if caregiving for a COVID-19 patient or a youngster under 18 whose education or toddler care provider is shut down due to COVID-19 (Hamilton 830). These strategies increased the income levels of individuals and businesses and adjusted the various components of society as described by functionalists to the new COVID-19 norm.
Conflict Perspective
Karl Marx established the conflict theory, which posits that civilization is perpetually in conflict due to the struggle for limited resources. According to the conflict perspective, social order is preserved by dominance and power rather than agreement and compliance. The conflict concept assumes that those with power and riches attempt to retain it by whatever means possible, mostly by oppressing the poor and powerless. The fundamental principle of conflict philosophy enumerates that people and organizations within a community want to optimize their money and power. The conflict paradigm has attempted to explain various societal occurrences, such as epidemics, wars, uprisings, impoverishment, prejudice, and domestic abuse. It attributes the majority of key advancements in human history, such as freedom and human liberties, to corporate endeavors to dominate the masses rather than a need for social stability.
From the conflict theory viewpoint of the COVID-19 pandemic, the epidemic caused a social disorder by disrupting the everyday life and processes of individuals and firms. From this hypothesis, it can be argued that during the pandemic, the organizations that had the most power were the healthcare institutions and governments. Medical centers showed dominance through discriminatory practices in the administration of care. For instance, not being provided the same medical treatments or options as white Americans are one of the most typical experiences among patients of color.
Frequently, prejudiced conduct against persons of color is due to unconscious bias, which has become more pronounced during the crisis. Chen et al., for instance, attributed the absence of examination of Black persons to racist attitudes (1625a). The most obvious and serious instance of bias was the direct attack on Asian Americans through the systemic racism of COVID-19 responsibility. These groups were subjected to anti-Asian brutality and other types of hatred due to President Trump’s statements, which intensified anti-Asian Xenophobia (Yam). In addition to Asian Americans, other populations of color have received discriminatory practices throughout the epidemic, including being criticized for high disease incidence. This affected their opinion of the immunization process, prolonging their confinement periods and thus decreasing their income levels due to not working like their White counterparts.
On the other hand, the government had control of medical supplies and equipment. Most medical professionals complained about a lack of protective medical amenities like personal protective equipment (PPE) and adequate physicians to help manage the surge of COVID-19-infected patients. This scenario brought disorder within society as various countries witnessed higher deaths of COVID-19-affected individuals. In addition, the states imposed control measures such as confinements to stop the spread of the virus. Medical institutions that manufactured and sold COVID-19 vaccines benefited the most from the event. These organizations distributed these drugs at various prices, some for free, as the event was worldwide.
Overall Outcome of COVID-19 Pandemic
Although the COVID-19 virus was intended to be unbiased, it produced inequalities in low-income and minority households. In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak caused substantial school closures across the United States. The overwhelming of PreK–12 learners of all ethnicities and economic levels completed their training through their institutions’ long-distance instructional methods, such as web-based pedagogical techniques and teleconferencing (Chen et al. 736b). Students from low-income and lower-middle-class backgrounds may have been hindered from partaking in long-distance learning due to a lack of equipment, such as computer access and dependability.
Moreover, The COVID-19 epidemic has caused a catastrophic loss of life on a global scale and poses an unprecedented threat to public health, nutrition, and the workplace. The socioeconomic disruptions presented by the pandemic are catastrophic: tens of millions of individuals are at threat of being plunged into destitution, and the percentage of malnourished people is increasing (World). Moreover, millions of organizations face an imminent crisis as nearly half of the worldwide employees are in danger of being laid off (World). Most informal employment laborers lack social coverage and adequate healthcare and have lost ownership of productive resources, making them especially susceptible. During lockdowns, many struggle to provide for themselves and their households due to a lack of employment opportunities.
In conclusion, COVID-19 has illustrated that society functions as a whole. That means that societal components such as business organizations, medical institutions, schools, workers, and the government must operate in unison to maintain social stability and order. In the absence that any failure to function, then the entire structure becomes non-operational. Businesses and schools must be functional for the government to have revenues from taxes charged for providing infrastructural developments, such as equipping healthcare personnel with adequate resources to curb COVID-19 impacts. Additionally, such taxes may be subsidized to provide low-income families with computers and internet connectivity to attend e-learning. Through various economic packages, the government compensates corporations and employees amidst pandemics to help them generate and have incomes, respectively.
Works Cited
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