Functionalism and Marxism are traced back to theories adopted by sociologists in the nineteenth century. Marxism came from the German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883), whereas Functionalism was originally derived by Auguste Compte (1798-1857). It was then developed further by Emile Durkheim (1858-1917).
Functionalist theories portray society as a structured system, which have a set of interconnected parts (or units) which together form a whole. These units are the institutions within society such as the family, religion and education. …
