Social-Conflict Approach Lesson

Just as the Structural-Functional Approach acts as a framework for developing sociological theories, so too does the Social-Conflict Approach. The main difference between the two is that the Structural-Functional Approach is based on social unity and stability while the Social-Conflict Approach is rooted in social inequality and conflict. Perhaps this difference stems from the father of the Social-Conflict Approach, Karl Marx.

Major Theoretical Perspectives: Karl Marx Timeline

Karl Marx once said, "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it." So, Karl Marx supported the Social-Conflict Approach to Sociology which saw society as a scene of inequality that generated conflict and change. Under Marx's watch, the Social-Conflict Approach focused on the inequality of power and wealth found amongst the different socioeconomic classes. He emphasized society's fundamental divisions between classes who clashed during the pursuit of their own class interests. In so doing, Marx challenged Structural-Functionalism. According to the Structural-Functional Approach, norms within a society result out of a desire of the masses to work together efficiently. Marx's Social-Conflict Approach saw these norms more as a result of one group forcing a way of life on another. He claimed, "The ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas" and sought to bring change to society. By addressing what he considered to be the failings of capitalism, Marx published Das Kapital in 1867 which was a call for society to give up capitalism and embrace socialism.

Karl Marx Photo Album

Flip through the photo album presentation below to learn the main ideas of Karl Marx's take on society and what he hoped would one day happen.

Karl Marx did not live long enough to see the evolution of some societies from capitalism to socialism; nor did he live long enough to see the expansion of the Social-Conflict Approach beyond its economic roots. Just as stability is the basis for the Structural-Functional Approach, change is the basis for the Social-Conflict Approach. Conflict theorists study social structure and events to determine what a conflict is centered around and who benefits from the conflict. In the 150 years since Marx's death, our world has experienced drastic changes providing a lot of subjects for the conflict theorist resulting in evolution within the Social-Conflict Approach.

In 1956, C. Wright Mills (of "sociological imagination" fame) published The Power Elite, his explanation of power and class in the United States. It was the culmination of the first major comprehensive research done on power in America. He argued that the "power elite" no longer consisted of just those with financial means but also included the people in positions of authority within the dominant institutions of society. He classified the military, politics, and economics as these dominant institutions and was somewhat labeled a conspiracy theorist by fellow academics. However, fifty years later, Mills' work on power and class in the United States has led many to consider him the father of modern conflict theory. Whether it was due to Mills' work or the political and economic climate of the latter part of the twentieth century, many sociologists have employed the Social-Conflict Approach to their own studies.

As the Social-Conflict Approach assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension among competing groups, it was only natural that it would expand to include conflicting groups other than just the economic classes of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Of the various topics in which the Social-Conflict Approach has been applied to in sociology since its use by Marx (and even Mills), the Gender-Conflict and Race-Conflict models have become the most important; but other characteristics that display inequality among participants are also studied, such as age, religion or health. Just as Marx used this approach to invoke change, whether evolutionary or revolutionary, so to have his successors within this theoretical perspective. The very nature of this macro-level perspective invites a goal of invoking change for sociologists who use it. Therefore, the Social-Conflict Approach is a form of critical sociology. This is one of the criticisms against the use of the Social-Conflict Approach: that its inherent political activism prevents the sociologist from remaining neutral and compromises his or her scientific objectivity. However, it does allow the sociologist to better understand the kinds of change that result from conflict and possibly make predictions on human society and behavior.

Social-Conflict Approach Video

Watch the Video on the Social-Conflict Approach.

IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR OPENSOURCE