Conflict theory

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A conflict theory is a theory which emphasizes the role that a person or group's ability has to exercise influence and control over others in producing social order. It states that a society functions so that each individual participant and its groups struggle to maximize their benefits, which inevitably contributes to social change such as changes in politics and revolutions. Conflict theory explains class conflict, such as that between the proletariat and bourgeoisie, and between ideologies such as capitalism and socialism. It is the theory that a continual struggle exists between all different aspects of a particular society. The struggle that occurs does not always involve physical violence; it can point to an underlying struggle for each group or individual within a society to maximize its own benefits. The theory was founded by Karl Marx, and later developed by theorists including Max Weber. Variants of conflict theory can depend on basic radical assumptions, which is when society is in external conflict, which in some circumstances can explain social change, or moderate ones that is a combination where conflict is always mixed/combined. The moderate version of the conflict theory allows Functionalism as an equally acceptable theory, since it would accept that even negative social institutions play a part in society's self-perpetuation.

Contents

[edit] Essence

The essence of conflict theory is best epitomized by the classic 'pyramid structure' in which an elite dictates terms to the larger masses. All major institutions, laws, and traditions in the society are created to support those who have traditionally been in power, or the groups that are perceived to be superior in the society according to this theory. This can also be expanded to include any society's 'morality' and by extension their definition of deviance. Anything that challenges the control of the elite will likely be considered 'deviant' or 'morally reprehensible.' The theory can be applied on both the macro level (like the US government or Soviet Russia, historically) or the micro level (a church organization or school club). In summary, conflict theory seeks to catalogue the ways in which those in power seek to stay in power. The conflict theory basically states that all problems are caused by different groups and their status and how they compete for the necessities (and not-so-necessities) in life.

Conflict theory arises from stress situations largely influenced by the bourgeoisie who makes life difficult for the proletariat by having the most access to resources and power.

[edit] Stratification

Stratification is the expression of the value system in any particular society. "Conflict theories approach the problem of social inequality from the standpoint of the various individuals and subgroups within a society. Their needs and desires, rather than the needs of society as a whole." (Lenski, 16) Social Inequality is created from the struggle of valued goods, respect, and services that are in short supply. (Lenski, 16) Many organizations come from stratification and members of the elite class tend to connect their own interests with that of the organization they are associated with. (Collins 100) "Organizations survive, grow, or are picked off, not merely because of their internal processes, but as a part of a kind of local 'world system' or organizations around them." (Collins 101) In other words, people that are in the highest class, or the elite, tend to use exploitation of people that are lower in the system to gain more benefits and rewards for themselves. In stratification, there are two ways in which the elite class uses power to protect themselves from being replaced in certain positions of society. One way is for a class to form a position where a person needs a certain expertise in order to hold that position. The second way is for a class to form a union. This tactic uses different contracts and the law to make certain positions irreplaceable. (Stark, 250)

[edit] Conflict theorists

Conflict theory was elaborated in the United Kingdom by Max Gluckman (1911-1975) and John Rex (1925-...), in the United States by Lewis A. Coser (1913-2003) and Randall Collins (1941-...), and in Germany by Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-...), all of them being influenced by Ludwig Gumplowicz (1838-1909), Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), Georg Simmel (1858-1918), and greatly influenced by Karl Marx (1818-1883). The major foundation of the Conflict Theory was made in much attribute to Karl Marx......

[edit] Basic conflicts

In conflict theory there are a few basic conflicts. One of the basic conflicts in conflict theory is that of class. There are low and high ranks in class, and that gives a certain group more power over another group which causes conflicts. For the most part, when an individual is part of a high ranked class they usually own a lot of property. That means that if you are of a lower class, then you don't own as much property. This usually causes conflict on who owns the most property and what property one does own. In Marx's original conception, ownership of property was the most essential determinant of the class structure. On the other hand Weber thought that property ownership was only one factor determining class structure. Also, in the words of Jurgen Habermas, the conflicts of different social structures and classes provide the many motives it takes to create and preserve many patterns of culture. Another basic conflict in conflict theory is that of race and ethnicity. Much like in the class system, groups in this system are ranked by their prestige and power. This means that if a certain race or ethnicity has more education, prestige, and power then it is considered the better race or ethnicity which creates conflict. Another kind of conflict is that of gender. This type of conflict can be noticeable by the implication of a type of culture that is for men and a type of culture that is for women. Regions are another kind of conflict. This type of conflict is brought about by all of the different assumptions that people from one region have about people that are from another region. The regions could range from one country to another or one state/province to another. Lastly, there is the conflict of religion. The conflict of religion is itself quite stratified; even though there is a group of people belonging to each religion they are divided much like the social structure of classes. All of these groups seek to gain power and use it to reshape society the way they see it best. It seems that this is the determining factor in the ruling class.

[edit] Education

Children enter school with a wide range of knowledge and physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive skills. Because wealthier families spend much more money on their children’s school preparation when compared with their poorer counterparts, children from lower income families whose knowledge and skills are far behind those of their classmates from wealthier families enter school at a disadvantage [1]. If these delayed children are unable to catch up, they face greater challenges throughout their school careers. [1] have indicated that the racial gap in achievement scores of high schools students is oftentimes already evident when children first began school. With regard to preschool training, according to [1], children living in poverty are much less likely than are non-poor children to be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, count higher, write their name, or read. Furthermore, children’s cognitive/literacy school readiness skills are higher among those with more educated mothers. [2] have also noted that children from higher class families are more likely to have a home environment that provides the intellectual skills they need to do well in school. Because of this early preparation, many researchers have found that middle-upper class children are already ahead of lower-class children in intellectual ability before the first year of school.

Once children get to school, poorer students, who are already less readily prepared for school when compared with their non-poor counterparts, typically face additional hardships with regard to school quality. School quality varies by neighborhood socioeconomic status. Because schools are funded by local property taxes, there are large differences in per-pupil expenditures such that expenditures in the richest 5 % of schools are more than twice the expenditures in the poorest 5 %. [3] In addition to these economic measures, there are large differences in many non-economic measures of school quality such as school violence, the number of AP course offerings, and the extent of the school’s library collections. School differences such as these influence the degree of education that students obtain and perpetuate continual income and race differentials in the education system.

As confirmed by [4] through data collected from public schools, tracking is another means by which education structures inequality. A large percentage of U.S. public schools follow the practice of placing children in different tracks that prepare some students for college and others for vocational skills that do not lead to college [5]. Factors such as measured intellectual skills and class background, influence track placement. Because cognitive skills and academic performance are influence by class background and race, the effect is the similar: tracking tends to separate children by class and race and limits opportunities for students to move from one academic track to another. [6] have confirmed this criticism of educational tracking by showing that children in the college-prep track improve in academic achievement over the years, while those in the lower track perform at lower levels.[7] propose that this differential achievement in school occurs because of the different expectations of administrators, teachers, and parents for students in the separate tracks. Evidence such as the previous, and results from studies comparing differences in tracked and non-tracked educational systems [8], confirm that the reinforcement of schooling practices such as tracking increases educational inequality, reinforces class differences, and differentiates children in terms of family background.

With respect to Conflict Theory, employment requirements reflect the efforts of the bourgeoisie or the upper class to monopolize or dominate jobs by imposing their cultural standards on the selection process. [9] examined, educational upgrading as a means of maintaining class boundaries. [9] noted that when college degrees were much more limited and the middle class typically had only high school degrees, middle class occupations required a high school degree. However, as more middle class Americans obtained college degrees and more of the working class obtained high school degrees, middle class occupations were upgraded so that they required a college degree. [7] argued that education is a certification of class membership more than of technical skills and certifies that people have learned to respect the authority, and accept the values, ideals, and system of inequality in the occupational structure. Furthermore, [7] postulate that the educational system teaches people to properly subordinate to reproduce social relations of production by valuing the cultural capital of the upper class and devaluing the cultural capital of the lower class. In other words, schools train the wealthy to take up places at the top of the economy while conditioning the poor to accept their lowly status in the class structure.

[edit] Modes of conflict

In conflict theory there are different modes of conflict. One mode of conflict theory is that of warfare and revolution. Warfare and revolutions take place phases due to the rocky “collations among a variety of social classes.” An example of warfare is that going on currently in Burma, where there is military versus population fighting for control over the country’s government. Another mode of conflict in conflict theory is that of strikes. Modern society has created a main social divider between workers and managers. When workers feel they have been treated unfairly, they go on strike to regain their right to power. Another mode of conflict in conflict theory is that of domination. Most social classes don't form their ideologies the same. Different groups will struggle in conflict over what they think is right, what the norms are, and their ideologies. Higher classes have more abstract ideologies, while subordinated classes that are much less to their advantage but still reflect the want in their own lives. The ideas of the ruling class are the ruling ideas, where the ruling material force is the ruling intellectual force.

[edit] Assumptions

The following are four primary assumptions of modern conflict theory:[10]

  1. Competition. Competition over scarce resources (money, leisure, sexual partners, and so on) is at the heart of all social relationships. Competition rather than consensus is characteristic of human relationships.
  2. Structural inequality. Inequalities in power and reward are built into all social structures. Individuals and groups that benefit from any particular structure strive to see it maintained.
  3. Revolution. Change occurs as a result of conflict between competing social classes rather than through adaptation. Change is often abrupt and revolutionary rather than evolutionary.
  4. War. Even war is a unifier of the societies involved, as well as possibly ending whole societies. In modern society, a source of conflict is power: politicians are competing to enter into a system;they act in their self interest, not for the welfare of people.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Lee, V., & Burkam, D. (2002). Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social Background Differences in Achievement of Children in School. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.
  2. ^ Jencks, C., Smith, M., Acland, H., Bane, M. J., Cohen, D., Gintis, H., et al. (1972). Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America. Basic Books, Inc.
  3. ^ (Card, David E. and Krueger, Alan B. (1996). Labor market effects of school quality: Theory and evidence. NBER Working Paper No. W5450. Available at SSRN: HYPERLINK "http://ssrn.com/abstract=225507."
  4. ^ Oakes, J. 2005. Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
  5. ^ Talbert, J. & Ennis, M. (1990). Teacher tracking: Exacerbating inequalities in the high school. Center for Research on the Context of Teaching. Stanford University
  6. ^ Alexander, K., & Cook, M. (1982). Curricula and coursework: A surprise ending to a familiar story. American Sociological Review , 626-640.
  7. ^ a b c Bowles, S., & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in Capitalist America: Educational Reform and the Contradictions of Economic Life. Routledge.
  8. ^ Hanushek, E. (2005). Does educational tracking affect performance and inequality? Differences-in-differences evidence across countries. National Bureau of Economic Research.
  9. ^ a b Collins, R. (1971). Functional and conflict theories of educational stratification . American Sociological Review , 1002-1019.
  10. ^ Ragunathan, Victor (2006-04-07). "War is a Complex, Multi-Symptom Disease". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. http://sangam.org/taraki/articles/2006/04-07_War_is_the_Disease.php?uid=1633. Retrieved on 2009-02-08. 
  • Stark, Rodney (2007). Sociology, 10th edition. thomas wadsworth. ISBN 0495093440. 
  • Lenski, Gerhard E. (1966). Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratificaion. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 070371652. 
  • Collins, Randall (1994). Four Sociological Traditions: Selected Readings. Oxford University Press.. ISBN 019508702X. 
  • Thio, Alex (2009). Sociology A Brief Introduction. Pearson. 

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