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Social inequality in the us
Karl marx's "conflict theory
Social inequality in the us
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Conflict theory is clearly demonstrated social order based on inequality, where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Ehrenreich clearly shows people I her book that within society there are certainly different levels, however,
Jones’ book is conflict perspective. Leon-Guerrero (2009) writes, “conflict theorists consider how society is held together by power and coercion (Ritzer 2000) for the benefit of those in power” (Leon-Guerrero, 2009, p. 14). Leon-Guerrero (2009) goes on to state that Karl Marx was the first to make the argument of conflict theory. Marx focused on the conflict between social classes. There is at most times a tension between the proletariat (workers) and the bourgeoisie (owners) (Leon-Guerrero, 2009, p. 14).
In the 1940s and the 1950s the conflict theory was ignored because sociologist thought it was solely economic. Today, sociologists see that conflict is found between many different groups in society. (Crossman) According to the conflict theory, inequality is the result of those who are wealthy, typically those in the upper one percent, which impose their mode of social order on the rest of the general society. In result, society is constantly competing for limited resources.
This creates conflict and creates a quest for social change. A society with conflict is subject to continuous change and inconsistency. This theory was hypothesized by Karl Marx who studied the existence of a powerful minority class and suppressed majority class that are at a conflict because resources were not distributed evenly among them. He focused on the consequences and causse of conflicts in each social class. Others have expanded the conflict theory to create other types of theories within the conflict theory.
Conflict Theory American society today is made up of all three of the theories. In my opinion, these theories all thrive off each other as a whole. I feel that the chain is something like this, Symbolic Interactionism, as well as Functionalism, lead into Conflict Theory. However, I feel that Conflict Theory is by far the largest component American society is made from, here is why! First I would like to touch on Symbolic Interactionism, symbols we attach value or meaning.
According to statics carried out by the bureau of statistics indicates that in the period between 1974 and 2012, 1% of the families’ share of the national wealth rose from 25% to 42%. On the other hand, the top 0.1% wealth tripled from 8% to 22%. Further, the records show that
For my critical analysis, I have chosen an excerpt from one of my creative documents and have chosen to analyse the use of language in the piece. The work is titled ‘To Wear a Dead Birds Wings’ and this piece of work is from the beginning of the novel in which the main character is held prisoner and has reached the point of insanity. In this creative piece, the use of language is intentionally poetic and symbolic, with intentions of having the reader question what is real and what is not. However the piece is largely expressive, it is not without its faults.
It depends where you stand on the definition and your view on it. My personal opinion is that it’s a conflict theory because in the textbook it states that “Individuals make up community and neighborhood units competing with each other for scarce resources” (Pg. 197). After analyzing the quote it became apparent to me that the individuals who make the community and those who make the neighborhood units are in the battle for the haves and have-nots. 3.)
Additionally, inequality contributing to social problems is based on social facts such as social class, race and ethnicity, gender, or some other dimension of society’s hierarchy. Because any of these inequalities represents a fundamental flaw in society, conflict theory assumes that social revolution is needed to address society’s many social problems (University of Minnesota. n.d.). The theoretical element that will be used to examine the different social facts is the competition and struggles, which talks about how the different groups (sex, race, age, etc.) compete to be able to reach to a higher position or towards an egalitarian society.
1. The two sociological perspectives that I will be writing about are conflict theory and symbolic interactionism. There are two conflict theories of a social problem Marxist Conflict theory and Non-Marxist Conflict theory. The importance of using social perspective when studying the Marxist and Non-Marxist conflict theories allows individuals a better understanding of the conflicts we face in average life such as class inequality, alienation, and conflicts in competing values in social groups.
The conflict theory is a macro-level theory where theorists look at the unequal distribution of resources such as money, power, education, and social prestige. Those who are wealthier and more educated than others in the society hold more power over those who are not wealthy or as educated. Conflict theorists see this a lot in the educational system, where inequality is shown through the materials in the school, teachers in the classrooms, and topics being taught. This type of inequality leads to learning differences that emphasizes social inequalities. Macro-level sociology is looking at the bigger picture of the social process, such as stability and change throughout society.
Home assignment #3 Educational system reflect social inequalities. And my analysis include sociological conflict theory like a key. And economical factor that affect educational, professional and social progression. Social conflict theory sees social life as a competition and focuses on the distribution of resources, power, and inequality. Social conflict theory is a macro-oriented paradigm in sociology that views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and social change.
In the following, I will use the conflict theory, which operates on the macro-level, as well as the symbolic interactionist theory, which focuses on the micro-scale of society, to explain the influence of globalization and the associated phenomena of inequality and conflict on the individual and society. The conflict theory approaches society on the macro-level. It was established by Karl Marx, who believed that social conflict stands at the center of sociocultural realities. His evolutionary theory came to be known as one of the most significant early contributions to sociology. Marx emphasizes the idea that “society is based on the struggle for scarce resources” (Module 1, 2015) and asserts that inequality and unequal conditions set forth forces that may end in conflict, which in turn contributes to change.
Class struggle is a conflict in a particular society or between a society which is caused by the lack of unity in one society and different perspective of a different group in a society. It is also called class conflict or class warfare. One social issue of a class struggle is the social inequality. According to study.com, Social inequality is an inequity of social class, award, opportunities, religion, position in the community, social status and at some other point respect in a group of society.
Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unevenly distributed between groups in society and that these conflicts become the engine for social change. In this context, Marx’s conflict approach was developed in 19th century by Karl Marx (1818-83) .Marx argued wealth and power were unequally distributed in society and sought to explain how one minority group (1% ruling-class) in society maintained its dominance over the majority (working-class). Weber formulated a response to Marx’s theory. Weber saw that conflict didn’t overwhelmingly involve the economy, but that the state and economy together set up conditions for conflict. In this essay I will discuss the views of Conflict Theorists on