Which sociological perspective would be most likely to argue that the existence of big-city political machines suggests that these political organizations satisfy certain basic social needs?

functionalist perspective

Explanation:

The functionalist perspective is an important theoretical perspective of sociology which was first used by Emile Durkheim and the theory explained how a society remains stable. The theory suggests that society is not just the sum of all parts but each part of society contributes to the whole. Therefore each social institution contributes in some way for the stability of society. As per the question, big city political machines are part of political organization and thus contributes to the social needs.