Economic perspective on Conflict Theory

There were many ideas, concepts, studies and theories developed during the early 1800s that affect our world today. One concept that affects how we behave throughout our society is “Sociology”. According to our textbook, entitled Introduction to Sociology, Sociology is defined as “The systematic study of society and social interaction” (Giddens, A. 1991). Ninetenth Century Sociologists, Karl Marx and Auguste Comte, developed many valuable theories relating to sociology that are still used today. Three sociological perspectives they emphasized were Functionalism, Conflict theory, and Symbolic Interactionism. Of these three perspectives, that were covered in Unit 1, “Conflict Theory” appeared to be the most compelling.

Conflict Theory simply means that society is a contest for resources that may or may not be available to everyone. These resources can be either political, material or social and are in limited global supply. Individuals who have more access to these resources will have more of a political, material and social advantage, as well as a better lifestyle, than those with limited access. Those members of society with access to vast resources will be at the upper echelon of society and will have more power in addition to political, material and social influence. Furthermore, in order to maintain their wealthy status, they will attempt to use their power and political, material, and social advantages to prevent others, who are less fortunate, from gaining access to their important limited resources. Those members of society with minimal access will be placed on the bottom echelon of society and will have little power and very little political, material, and social influence. Furthermore, attempts to rise form the bottom, so as to improve their status in society, will be met with numerous obstacles to insure that those on the bottom echelon remain on the bottom. Moreover, those with more resources will also use suppression for the purpose of maintaining their status and to not allow others to become as fortunate as them. From an economical perspective Capitalism was the exact representation of this theory. In fact, the textbook, Introduction to Sociology, Capitalism is defined as “the economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of goods and the means to produce them” (Giddens, A. 1991). Initially, this economic system had worldwide acceptance until the philosopher and sociologist, Karl Marx, rejected Capitalism because he believed that it would eventually lead to a worldwide revolution of the forces of labor. He then developed the Economic System known as Communism.

In theory, Communists reject Capitalism to the point where they believe that there should be no private nor corporate businesses. Instead, everything should be owned jointly, then distributed as necessary to meet the needs of the community. According to Marx, the purpose of Communism was to eliminate the problems of economic inequality, and to insure that everyone, in the society, would be on a “level playing field.” Karl Marx was considered a prominent sociologist for this concept, and also for many other concepts that are still being used today.

In conclusion, there are many ideas, concepts, studies and theories that have significantly affected our society throughout the years, but Conflict Theory, in my opinion, had the most significant affect. The reason it was selected is because, in comparison to other perspectives, concepts and theories mentioned, Conflict Theory appears to directly affect our way of life, as well as our behavior. Therefore, it proves to be one of the most significant sociological theories currently in use in our modern society.