- Karl Marx Social Conflict Theory
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What Is Conflict Theory?
The conflict theory, suggested by Karl Marx, claims society is in a state of perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources. It holds that social order is maintained by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity. According to conflict theory, those with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless. A basic premise of conflict theory is that individuals and groups within society will work to maximize their own benefits.
- Conflict theories draw attention to power differentials, such as class conflict, and generally contrast historically dominant ideologies. It is therefore a macro-level analysis of society. Karl Marx is the father of the social conflict theory, which is a component of the four major paradigms of sociology. Certain conflict theories set out to.
- The Marx conflict theory begins with the notion that there are two basic groups of people within society – the wealthy and the poor. Additionally, Marxist conflict theory looks at what happens when one group attempts to rebel against the other group and the various roles a group of people (or one person) has over another group of people.
- Conflict theory is a theory propounded by Karl Marx that claims society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources. It holds that social order is maintained.
- Critical Theories: Marxist, Conflict, and Feminist. Another concept that is central to critical criminology is alienation (Smith & Bohm, 2008). Is a condition that describes the distancing of individuals from something. For Marx, most individuals in.
Exploring Karl Marx Conflict Theory in Education: Are PPSs Maintaining Status Quo? 196 Introduction Inequality is considered as an inevitable result of capitalism. Education system along with other institutions is assumed likely. It exhibits and funds the existing inequalities in.
Karl Marx Social Conflict Theory
Key Takeaways
- Conflict theory focuses on the competition between groups within society over limited resources.
- Conflict theory views social and economic institutions as tools of the struggle between groups or classes, used to maintain inequality and the dominance of the ruling class.
- Marxist conflict theory sees society as divided along lines of economic class between the proletarian working class and the bourgeois ruling class.
- Later versions of conflict theory look at other dimensions of conflict among capitalist factions and between various social, religious, and other types of groups.
Conflict Theory
Understanding Conflict Theory
The conflict theory has been used to explain a wide range of social phenomena, including wars and revolutions, wealth and poverty, discrimination and domestic violence. It ascribes most of the fundamental developments in human history, such as democracy and civil rights, to capitalistic attempts to control the masses rather than to a desire for social order. The theory revolves around concepts of social inequality in the division of resources and focuses on the conflicts that exist between classes.
Many types of conflicts can be described using conflict theory. Some theorists, including Marx, believe that inherent societal conflict drives change and development in society.
Class Conflicts
Marx’s conflict theory focused on the conflict between two primary classes. Each class consists of a group of people bound by mutual interests and a degree of property ownership, often supported by the state. The bourgeoisie represents the members of society who hold the majority of the wealth and means. The proletariat includes those considered working class or poor. With the rise of capitalism, Marx theorized that the bourgeoisie, a minority within the population, would use their influence to oppress the proletariat, the majority class. This way of thinking is tied to a common image associated with conflict theory-based models of society; adherents to this philosophy tend to believe in a 'pyramid' arrangement in which a small group of elites dictates terms and conditions to the larger portion of society, as a result of outsized control over resources and power.
Marxist Theory Of Development Pdf
Finite mathematics 10th edition pdf. Uneven distribution within society was predicted to be maintained through ideological coercion where the bourgeoisie would force acceptance of the current conditions by the proletariat. The thinking goes that the elite would set up systems of laws, traditions and other societal structures in order to further support their own dominance while preventing others from joining their ranks. Marx further believed that as the working class and poor were subjected to worsening conditions, a collective consciousness would bring inequality to light and potentially result in revolt. If conditions were subsequently adjusted to address the concerns of the proletariat, the conflict circle would eventually repeat.
Conflict Theory Assumptions
In current conflict theory, there are four primary assumptions which are helpful to understand: competition, revolution, structural inequality, and war.
Competition
Conflict theorists believe that competition is a constant and, at times, overwhelming factor in nearly every human relationship and interaction. Competition exists as a result of the scarcity of resources, including material resources like money, property, commodities, and more. Beyond material resources, individuals and groups within a society also compete for intangible resources as well. These can include leisure time, dominance, social status, sexual partners, and many other factors as well. Conflict theorists assume that competition is the default, rather than cooperation.
Revolution
Given conflict theorists' assumption that conflict occurs between social classes, one outcome of this conflict is a revolution. The idea is that change in a power dynamic between groups does not happen as the result of adaptation. Rather, it comes about as the effect of conflict between these groups. In this way, changes to a power dynamic are often abrupt and large in scale, rather than gradual and evolutionary.
Structural Inequality
An important assumption of conflict theory is that human relationships and social structures all experience inequalities of power. In this way, some individuals and groups inherently develop more power and reward than others. Following this, those individuals and groups that benefit from a particular structure of society tend to work to maintain those structures so as to retain and enhance their power.
War
Conflict theorists tend to see war as either a unifier or as a cleanser of societies. In conflict theory, war is the result of a cumulative and growing conflict between individuals and groups and between whole societies. In the context of war, a society may become unified in some ways, but conflict still remains between multiple societies. On the other hand, war may also result in the wholesale end of society.
Marx’s Views on Capitalism
Marx viewed capitalism as part of the historical progress of economic systems and believed that it was rooted in commodities, meaning things that are purchased and sold. For example, he believed that labor is a type of commodity. Because laborers have little control or power in the economic system (because they don’t own factories or materials), their worth can be devalued over time. This can create an imbalance between business owners and their workers, which can lead to social conflicts. He believed these problems would eventually be fixed through a social and economic revolution.
Weber's Take
Max Weber adopted many aspects of Marx's conflict theory and further refined the idea. Weber believed that conflict over property was not limited to one specific scenario. Rather, he believed that there were multiple layers of conflict existing at any given moment and in every society. Whereas Marx framed his view of conflict as one between owners and workers, Weber also added an emotional component to his ideas about conflict. He stated: 'it is these that underlie the power of religion and make it an important ally of the state; that transform classes into status groups, and do the same to territorial communities under particular circumstances..and that make 'legitimacy' a crucial focus for efforts at domination.'
Weber's beliefs about conflict extend beyond Marx's in that they suggest that some forms of social interaction, including conflict, generate beliefs and solidarity between individuals and groups within a society. In this way, an individual's reactions to inequality might be different depending on the groups with which they are associated, whether they perceive those in power to be legitimate, and so on.
Later Conflict Theorists
Conflict theorists of the later 20th and 21st centuries have continued to extend conflict theory beyond the strict economic classes posited by Marx, though economic relations remain a core feature of the inequalities across groups in the various branches of conflict theory. Conflict theory is highly influential in modern and post-modern theories of sexual and racial inequality, anticolonialism, peace and conflict studies, and the many varieties of identity studies that have arisen across Western academia in the past several decades.
Economic Applications
For example, conflict theorists view the relationship between a housing complex owner and a tenant as being based mainly on conflict instead of balance or harmony, even though there may be more harmony than conflict. They believe that they are defined by getting whatever resources they can from each other.
In the above example, some of the limited resources which may contribute to conflicts between tenants and the complex owner include the limited space within the complex, the limited number of units, the money which tenants pay to the complex owner for rent, and so on. Ultimately, conflict theorists see this dynamic as one of conflict over these resources. The complex owner, however gracious a landlord he or she may be, is fundamentally focused on getting as many apartment units filled as possible so that he or she can make as much money in rent as possible. This may introduce conflict between housing complexes, among tenant applicants looking to move into an apartment, and so forth. On the other side of the conflict, the tenants themselves are looking to get the best apartment possible for the least amount of money in rent.
Conflict theorists point to the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent bank bailouts as good examples of real-life conflict theory, according to authors Alan Sears and James Cairns in their book A Good Book, in Theory. They view the financial crisis as the inevitable outcome of the inequalities and instabilities of the global economic system, which enables the largest banks and institutions to avoid government oversight and take huge risks that only reward a select few.
Sears and Cairns note that large banks and big businesses subsequently received bailout funds from the same governments that claimed to have insufficient funds for large-scale social programs such as universal health care. This dichotomy supports a fundamental assumption of conflict theory, which is that mainstream political institutions and cultural practices favor dominant groups and individuals.
This example illustrates that conflict can be inherent in all types of relationships, including those that don't appear on the surface to be antagonistic. It also shows that even a straightforward scenario can lead to multiple layers of conflict.
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Conflict theories are perspectives in sociology and social psychology that emphasize a materialist interpretation of history, dialectical method of analysis, a critical stance toward existing social arrangements, and political program of revolution or, at least, reform. Conflict theories draw attention to power differentials, such as class conflict, and generally contrast historically dominant ideologies. It is therefore a macro-level analysis of society.
Karl Marx is the father of the social conflict theory, which is a component of the four major paradigms of sociology. Certain conflict theories set out to highlight the ideological aspects inherent in traditional thought. While many of these perspectives hold parallels, conflict theory does not refer to a unified school of thought, and should not be confused with, for instance, peace and conflict studies, or any other specific theory of social conflict.
In classical sociology[edit]
Of the classical founders of social science, conflict theory is most commonly associated with Karl Marx (1818–1883). Based on a dialectical materialist account of history, Marxism posited that capitalism, like previous socioeconomic systems, would inevitably produce internal tensions leading to its own destruction. Marx ushered in radical change, advocating proletarian revolution and freedom from the ruling classes. At the same time, Karl Marx was aware that most of the people living in capitalist societies did not see how the system shaped the entire operation of society. Just as modern individuals see private property (and the right to pass that property on to their children) as natural, many of the members in capitalistic societies see the rich as having earned their wealth through hard work and education, while seeing the poor as lacking in skill and initiative. Marx rejected this type of thinking and termed it false consciousness, explanations of social problems as the shortcomings of individuals rather than the flaws of society. Marx wanted to replace this kind of thinking with something Friedrich Engels termed class consciousness, the workers' recognition of themselves as a class unified in opposition to capitalists and ultimately to the capitalist system itself. In general, Marx wanted the proletarians to rise up against the capitalists and overthrow the capitalist system.
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary re-constitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.
— Karl Marx & Friedrich EngelsThe Communist Manifesto 1848, [1]
In the social productions of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or – this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms – with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces, these relations turn into their fetters. Then an era of social revolution begins. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure.
In studying such transformations it is always necessary to distinguish between the material transformation of the economic conditions of production, which can be determined with the precision of natural science, and the legal, political, religious, artistic or philosophic – in short, ideological forms in which men become conscious of this conflict and fight it out. Just as one does not judge an individual by what he thinks about himself, so one cannot judge such a period of transformation by its consciousness, but, on the contrary, this consciousness must be explained from the contradictions of material life, from the conflict existing between the social forces of production and the relations of production. No social order is ever destroyed before all the productive forces for which it is sufficient have been developed, and new superior relations of production never replace older ones before the material conditions for their existence have matured within the framework of the old society.
Mankind thus inevitably sets itself only such tasks as it is able to solve, since closer examination will always show that the problem itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution are already present or at least in the course of formation. In broad outline, the Asiatic, ancient, [a] feudal and modern bourgeois modes of production may be designated as epochs marking progress in the economic development of society. The bourgeois mode of production is the last antagonistic form of the social process of production – antagonistic not in the sense of individual antagonism but of an antagonism that emanates from the individuals' social conditions of existence – but the productive forces developing within bourgeois society create also the material conditions for a solution of this antagonism. The prehistory of human society accordingly closes with this social formation.
— Karl MarxA Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy 1859, [2]
Two early conflict theorists were the Polish-Austrian sociologist and political theorist Ludwig Gumplowicz (1838–1909) and the American sociologist and paleontologist Lester F. Ward (1841–1913). Although Ward and Gumplowicz developed their theories independently they had much in common and approached conflict from a comprehensive anthropological and evolutionary point-of-view as opposed to Marx's rather exclusive focus on economic factors.
Gumplowicz, in Grundriss der Soziologie (Outlines of Sociology, 1884), describes how civilization has been shaped by conflict between cultures and ethnic groups. Gumplowicz theorized that large complex human societies evolved from the war and conquest. The winner of a war would enslave the losers; eventually a complex caste system develops.[3]Horowitz says that Gumplowicz understood conflict in all its forms: 'class conflict, race conflict and ethnic conflict', and calls him one of the fathers of conflict theory.[4]
What happened in India, Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome may sometime happen in modern Europe. European civilization may perish, over flooded by barbaric tribes. But if any one believes that we are safe from such catastrophes he is perhaps yielding to an all too optimistic delusion. There are no barbaric tribes in our neighbourhood to be sure — but let no one be deceived, their instincts lie latent in the populace of European states.
Ward directly attacked and attempted to systematically refute the elite business class' laissez-faire philosophy as espoused by the hugely popular social philosopher Herbert Spencer. Ward's Dynamic Sociology (1883) was an extended thesis on how to reduce conflict and competition in society and thus optimize human progress. At the most basic level Ward saw human nature itself to be deeply conflicted between self-aggrandizement and altruism, between emotion and intellect, and between male and female. These conflicts would be then reflected in society and Ward assumed there had been a 'perpetual and vigorous struggle' among various 'social forces' that shaped civilization.[6][7] Ward was more optimistic than Marx and Gumplowicz and believed that it was possible to build on and reform present social structures with the help of sociological analysis.
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) saw society as a functioning organism. Functionalism concerns 'the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system,'[8] The chief form of social conflict that Durkheim addressed was crime. Durkheim saw crime as 'a factor in public health, an integral part of all healthy societies.'[9] The collective conscience defines certain acts as 'criminal.' Crime thus plays a role in the evolution of morality and law: '[it] implies not only that the way remains open to necessary changes but that in certain cases it directly prepares these changes.'[10]
Max Weber's (1864–1920) approach to conflict is contrasted with that of Marx. While Marx focused on the way individual behaviour is conditioned by social structure, Weber emphasized the importance of 'social action,' i.e., the ability of individuals to affect their social relationships.[11]
Modern approaches[edit]
Karl Marx Conflict Theory Pdf Art
C. Wright Mills has been called the founder of modern conflict theory.[12] In Mills's view, social structures are created through conflict between people with differing interests and resources. Individuals and resources, in turn, are influenced by these structures and by the 'unequal distribution of power and resources in the society.'[12] The power elite of American society, (i.e., the military–industrial complex) had 'emerged from the fusion of the corporate elite, the Pentagon, and the executive branch of government.' Mills argued that the interests of this elite were opposed to those of the people. He theorized that the policies of the power elite would result in 'increased escalation of conflict, production of weapons of mass destruction, and possibly the annihilation of the human race.'[12]
Gene Sharp (1928-2018) was a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.[13] He is known for his extensive writings on nonviolent struggle, which have influenced numerous anti-government resistance movements around the world. In 1983 he founded the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization devoted to studies and promotion of the use of nonviolent action in conflicts worldwide.[14] Sharp's key theme is that power is not monolithic; that is, it does not derive from some intrinsic quality of those who are in power. For Sharp, political power, the power of any state—regardless of its particular structural organization—ultimately derives from the subjects of the state. His fundamental belief is that any power structure relies upon the subjects' obedience to the orders of the ruler or rulers. If subjects do not obey, leaders have no power. Sharp has been called both the 'Machiavelli of nonviolence' and the 'Clausewitz of nonviolent warfare.'[15] Sharp's scholarship has influenced resistance organizations around the world. Most recently the protest movement that toppled President Mubarak of Egypt drew extensively on his ideas, as well as the youth movement in Tunisia and the earlier ones in the Eastern European colour revolutions that had previously been inspired by Sharp's work.[16]
A recent articulation of conflict theory is found in Canadian sociologist Alan Sears' book A Good Book, in Theory: A Guide to Theoretical Thinking (2008):[17]
- Societies are defined by inequality that produces conflict, rather than which produces order and consensus. This conflict based on inequality can only be overcome through a fundamental transformation of the existing relations in the society, and is productive of new social relations.
- The disadvantaged have structural interests that run counter to the status quo, which, once they are assumed, will lead to social change. Thus, they are viewed as agents of change rather than objects one should feel sympathy for.
- Human potential (e.g., capacity for creativity) is suppressed by conditions of exploitation and oppression, which are necessary in any society with an unequal division of labour. These and other qualities do not necessarily have to be stunted due to the requirements of the so-called 'civilizing process,' or 'functional necessity': creativity is actually an engine for economic development and change.
- The role of theory is in realizing human potential and transforming society, rather than maintaining the power structure. The opposite aim of theory would be the objectivity and detachment associated with positivism, where theory is a neutral, explanatory tool.
- Consensus is a euphemism for ideology. Genuine consensus is not achieved, rather the more powerful in societies are able to impose their conceptions on others and have them accept their discourses. Consensus does not preserve social order, it entrenches stratification, a tool of the current social order.
- The State serves the particular interests of the most powerful while claiming to represent the interests of all. Representation of disadvantaged groups in State processes may cultivate the notion of full participation, but this is an illusion/ideology.
- Inequality on a global level is characterized by the purposeful underdevelopment of Third World countries, both during colonization and after national independence. The global system (i.e., development agencies such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund) benefits the most powerful countries and multi-national corporations, rather than the subjects of development, through economic, political, and military actions.
Although Sears associates the conflict theory approach with Marxism, he argues that it is the foundation for much 'feminist, post-modernist, anti-racist, and lesbian-gay liberationist theories.'[18]
Karl Marx And Conflict Theory
Types[edit]
Conflict theory is most commonly associated with Marxism, but as a reaction to functionalism and the positivist method, it may also be associated with a number of other perspectives, including:
- Feminist theory: An approach that recognizes women's political, social, and economic equality to men.
- Postmodern theory: An approach that is critical of modernism, with a mistrust of grand theories and ideologies.[19]
- Queer theory: A growing body of research findings that challenges the heterosexual bias in Western society.[19]
- Race-Conflict Approach: A point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories.[19]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto, introduction by Martin Malia (New York: Penguin group, 1998), pg. 35 ISBN0-451-52710-0
- ^Marx A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm
- ^Fifty Key Sociologists: the Formative Theorists, John Scott Irving, 2007, pg 59
- ^'Communicating Ideas: The Politics of Scholarly Publishing', Irving Louis Horowitz, 1986, pg 281
- ^'Outlines of Sociology', pg 196
- ^'Transforming Leadership', James MacGregor Burns, 2004, pg 189
- ^'German Realpolitik and American Sociology: an Inquiry Into the Sources and Political Significance of the Sociology of Conflict', James Alfred Aho, 1975, ch. 6 'Lester F. Ward's Sociology of Conflict'
- ^Bourricaud, F. 'The Sociology of Talcott Parsons' Chicago University Press. ISBN0-226-06756-4. p. 94
- ^Durkheim, E. (1938). The Rules of Sociological Method. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. p. 67.
- ^Durkheim, (1938), pp. 70–81.
- ^Livesay, C. Social Inequality: Theories: Weber. Sociology Central. A-Level Sociology Teaching Notes. Retrieved on: 2010-06-20.
- ^ abcKnapp, P. (1994). One World – Many Worlds: Contemporary Sociological Theory (2nd Ed.). Harpercollins College Div, pp. 228–246. Online summaryISBN978-0-06-501218-7
- ^'Gene Sharp: Author of the nonviolent revolution rulebook'. BBC News. 21 February 2011.
- ^Gene Sharp biography at Albert Einstein Institution web site.Archived 12 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^Weber, Thomas. Gandhi as Disciple and Mentor. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004[page needed]
- ^'Shy U.S. Intellectual Created Playbook Used in a Revolution'. The New York Times. 16 February 2011.
- ^Sears, Alan. (2008) A Good Book, In Theory: A Guide to Theoretical Thinking. North York: Higher Education University of Toronto Press, pg. 34-6, ISBN1-55111-536-0.
- ^Sears, pg. 36.
- ^ abcMacionis, J., and Gerber, L. (2010). Sociology, 7th edition
References[edit]
Library resources about Conflict theories |
- Stark, Rodney (2007). Sociology (10th ed.). thomas wadsworth. ISBN978-0-495-09344-2.
- Lenski, Gerhard E. (1966). Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratificaion. McGraw-Hill. ISBN978-0-07-037165-1.
- Collins, Randall (1994). Four Sociological Traditions: Selected Readings. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-19-508702-4.
- Thio, Alex (2008). Sociology: A Brief Introduction (7th ed.). Pearson. ISBN978-0-205-40785-9.
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