Introduction
Conflict theory was first articulated by Karl Marx as a way to explain his perception that society was engaged in a continual struggle or conflict due to a finite supply of resources. As a result, the order of society is determined by the powers that rise to the top to control the resources. The subtext of this theory is that order is established by rule and tyranny rather than by consensus of the whole. This paper will examine the main concepts and principles of Conflict Theory, identify its strengths and weaknesses, discussed fallacies within the theory, and describe how it can be used to address differences in people.
The Theory: Main Concepts and Principles
Though rooted in Marxist ideology, conflict theory emerged in the 1950s as a reaction to structural functionalism (Ritzer, Stepnisky, 2017). Structural functionalism was a theory that proposed to explain the manner in which society functions as a result of various relationships and social institutions working together towards stability and functionality. Conflict theory was promoted by theorists like Ralf Dahrendorf, who juxtaposed conflict theory and structural functionalism to show that society had “two faces” consisting of one part conflict and one part consensus (Ritzer, Stepnisky, 2017, p. 120). Conflict theory focused on the conflicts of interest inherent in the various elements of society, the various classes, and the various institutions and organizations. So while it was rooted in concepts defined by Marx in the previous century, it was ultimately a response to structural functionalism and was even used by Dahrendorf to explain how society should be studied in structurally functionalist terms—i.e., as an organizational process where conflict and consensus were integrated throughout.
The main concepts and principles of conflict theory were laid by the critical theorists of the first half of the 20th century—the Frankfurt School thinkers: Theodore Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Erich Fromm and others. They were Marxists who anticipated the class warfare that Marx had predicted but who were grappling with the fact that the class uprising had not yet occurred. They sought explanations as to what had happened and formulated critical theory, which was a way to break down social conventions and relationships to identify the hidden power struggle underneath. For example, the Frankfurt School identified mass media as a means of control used by the power/ruling class to keep the worker class docile and unconcerned with the conflict inherent in society, as Marx had viewed it (Horkheimer, Adorno, 1944). They viewed the “culture industry” as the cause of conflict suppression and deemed education as a means of re-awakening the worker class to the reality of the conflict and their oppression (Horkheimer, Adorno, 2002).
Conflict theory was thus posited as an extension of this groundwork but at the same time as a reaction to structural functionalism, which denied the existence or meaningfulness of conflict inherent in society. Conflict theory was situated on the principle that all of society is functioning for control and that the owners of the means of production were the ones in control in the present era:...
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