Modular Functionalism and AGIL-Digital: A Theoretical Reconstruction of Social Systems in the Information Era Through a Study of the Maiyah Community

Abstract

This study reconstructs Talcott Parsons’ structural functionalism paradigm in the context of a digital network-based Islamic social movement in 21st-century Indonesia. Using the Maiyah community led by Emha Ainun Nadjib (Cak Nun) as the object of analysis, this study argues that the classic AGIL (Adaptation, Goal-Attainment, Integration, Latency) framework needs to be updated into what the author calls “AGIL-Digital” (AGIL-D) and “Modular Functionalism.” Qualitative data collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis show that the Maiyah community has succeeded in maintaining the continuity of its value system throughout three historical phases from traditional social movements (1980s), new social movements (1990s–2000s), to contemporary social movements (2010s to present) through a modular and decentralized cultural-spiritual adaptation mechanism. The theoretical synthesis between Parsons’ AGIL framework, Manuel Castells’ network society theory, and Anthony Wallace’s revitalization theory produces a new analytical model capable of explaining how social systems maintain their essential functions outside of formal hierarchical structures. The study identifies four key theoretical propositions constituting the AGIL-Digital model: (P1) digital modularity the capacity of autonomous nodes to replicate core functions independently; (P2) asynchronous latency the temporal unbounding of value transmission through digital archives; (P3) spiritual goal-attainment the prioritization of individual subjective sovereignty over collective political outcomes; and (P4) structural immunity the cultivation of institutional resilience against algorithmic manipulation and platform fragility. These propositions advance a post-Parsonian sociological framework with direct relevance to the study of non-Western, spiritually-oriented social movements in the digital age.