equilibrium

equilibrium, social equilibrium

In normative functionalist theory generally, and the work of Talcott Parsons in particular, the commonplace concept of equilibrium (a state of balance in which opposing forces or tendencies neutralize each other) is given a more specific meaning. It applies, in particular, to what Parsons calls a ‘boundary-maintaining system’; that is, a social system which ‘maintains certain constancies of pattern’, relative to its environment. Two types of constancy are identified-static (unchanging), and moving, the latter of which Parsons describes as ‘an orderly process of social change’ (see The Social System, 1951). The tendency of social systems towards equilibrium is built into the premisses of (and later the very definitions of a society proffered by) Parsonsian theory. The use of the terms ‘moving equilibrium’ and ‘disequilibrium’ (rather than the more prosaic change and conflict) speaks volumes about the conservatism of this form of sociological theory. See also change, social ; consensus ; social integration and system integration.