consensus and conflict theory sociology
Binns, D. (1977). Finally, conflict behavior covers many types of behavior. Conflict theory is a way of studying society that focuses on the inequalities of different groups in a society. The Soviet leader Kruschev installed medium-range missiles in Cuba. Microsociologists would instead focus on such things as why individual robbers decide to commit a robbery and how they select their targets. Finally, role differentiation can directly create incompatible goals by means of nudging those with different goals to act in incompatible ways. However, sociologists agree that an action is rational if they consider the set of all relevant alternatives and assess every outcome correctly. Indeed, according to Marxists, weaker parties in class conflict may be powerless or too fearful to express conflict openly (Rowthorn, 1980). In the early 1970s, women tended to comprise a low number of professional and manual labor positions relative to men. Smith, A. This article attempts to highlight the differences between these two theories through the provision of a better understanding of the two theories. Conflict theory and functionalism: Introductory sociology textbooks, 1928-1976. Durkheim emphasized two related social mechanisms: socialization and social integration. Although many sociologists have studied the conflict arising from role differentiation, they have not generally agreed on whether role differentiation causes conflict. In all of these respects, says Randall Collins (1994, p. 181), Durkheims view represents the core tradition of sociology that lies at the heart of the sociological perspective. 2002-2023 Tutor2u Limited. Distinguish macro approaches in sociology from micro approaches. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds. Wage Labour and Capital (1847). Although people have been spreading conflict from a folk knowledge context for millennia, the philosophy underlying conflict theory and intentional thinking around how people understand conflict and how they can resolve it in constructive ways stems from the thinking of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and George Simmel. Generally, modern sociologists have seen conflict as both endemic and mundane and thus regarded as normal, leading to the disappearance of distinctive conflict sociology in recent years (Crouch, 2001). Consensus theorists support the idea that everyone in society has a shared, communal goal which they work together in harmony to achieve. Weber noted that different groups were affected differently based on education, race, and gender, and that peoples reactions to inequality were moderated by class differences and rates of social mobility, as well as by perceptions about the legitimacy of those in power. The Differences Between Communism and Socialism, The Main Points of "The Communist Manifesto", Proletarianization Defined: Shrinking of the Middle Class, Understanding Karl Marx's Class Consciousness and False Consciousness, These 4 Quotes Completely Changed the History of the World, Biography of Patricia Hill Collins, Esteemed Sociologist, The Three Historic Phases of Capitalism and How They Differ, Conflict Theory Case Study: The Occupy Central Protests in Hong Kong, critical theorists who were part of The Frankfurt School, a tiny "power elite" composed of military, economic, and political figures, theories of globalization and world systems. Durkheim used suicide to illustrate how social disorder can result from a weakening of societys moral cocoon. We now turn to these four theoretical perspectives, which are summarized in Table 1.1 Theory Snapshot. Bartos, O. J., & Wehr, P. (2002). Despite this shortcoming, their basic view of conflict arising from unequal positions held by members of society lies at the heart of todays conflict theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Many social structures are extremely stable or have gradually progressed over time rather than changing abruptly, as conflict theory would suggest. 1975) makes it easier for actions inflicted by other groups, however unintentional, to be seen as slights on the ethnocentric group (Bartos and Wehr, 2002). The frustration stemming from anomie leads some people to commit suicide (Durkheim, 1897/1952). C. Wright Mills, who coinedthe termsociological imagination, also used conflict theory to examine systems of power and the ways in which government, military, and corporations formed apower elite(1956) in the United States in the 1950s. For example, Marxism emphasizes class conflict over economic resources, but Weber suggests that conflict and inequality can be caused by power and status independently of class structures. "Society therefore is a self equilibrating system: order is always maintained without major changes in society. Sociologists consider the implementation of so-called rational decision-making to be effused with difficulties. For example, a demonstration planned to let a groups point of view be known may turn into a riot with rock throwing, the burning of cars, and looting. These criticisms aside, all four perspectives taken together offer a more comprehensive understanding of social phenomena than any one perspective can offer alone. Conflict Sociology. No longer supervised by adults and no longer in a society as they once knew it, they are not sure how to proceed and come up with new rules for their behavior. In general, however, conflict theory emphasizes that the various parts of society contribute to ongoing inequality, whereas functionalist theory, as we have seen, stresses that they contribute to the ongoing stability of society. On the contrary, they believed social change to occur within the boundaries of consensus. 1). Understanding Conflict Theory. Conflict theory also has its problems. Examples of Conflict Theory Note: Conflict theory can be applied to many sociological topics such as: People act to maximize their advantages in a given situation and to reduce their disadvantages. German sociologist Max Weber agreed with some of Marxs main ideas, but also believed that in addition to economic inequalities, there were inequalities of political power and social structure that caused conflict. And by emphasizing the ways in which social institutions contribute to social inequality, conflict theory minimizes the ways in which these institutions are necessary for societys stability. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. (1992). Like functionalism, to micro functionalists, conflict is unusual and pathological, and events such as strikes, divorces, crime, and violence are seen as indicators of malfunctioning but mundane malfunctioning. Simply Scholar Ltd. 20-22 Wenlock Road, London N1 7GU, 2023 Simply Scholar, Ltd. All rights reserved. This simple act indicates that you are a nice, polite person with whom someone should feel comfortable. If they decide that benefits outweigh disadvantages, they will initiate the interaction or continue it if it is already under way. The American sociologist Talcott Parsons (1951) noted that in the creation of a social arrangement, actors have to decide whether the relationships among themselves are: affective or affectively neutral; self or collectively oriented; universalistic or particularistic; specific or diffuse; ascription or achievement-oriented. 187-212): Columbia University Press. Utilitarianism emphasizes that people act in their self-interest by calculating whether potential behaviors will be more advantageous than disadvantageous. 2. 3, 2021, thoughtco.com/conflict-theory-3026622. Just as structural functionalism was criticized for focusing too much on the stability of societies, conflict theory has been criticized because it tends to focus on conflict to the exclusion of recognizing stability. Chapter 22: Conclusion: Understanding and Changing the Social World, Chapter 1: Sociology and the Sociological Perspective, Chapter 2: Eye on Society: Doing Sociological Research, Chapter 5: Social Structure and Social Interaction, Chapter 7: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control, Chapter 20: Social Change and the Environment, Chapter 21: Collective Behavior and Social Movements, https://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/d/pics/durkheim.jpg, Chapter 11 Gender and Gender Inequality, Chapter 2 Eye on Society: Doing Sociological Research, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Consensus Theories Shared norms and values as fundamental to society Focus on social order based on tacit agreements Social change occurs in slow and orderly fashion Conflict Theories Emphasize the dominance of some social groups See social order as manipulation and control by dominant groups Social change occurs rapidly and in a disorderly fashion ThoughtCo, Mar. If the human body evolved to its present form and functions because these made sense from an evolutionary perspective, so did society evolve to its present form and functions because these made sense. Exchange or rational choice theory would emphasize that armed robbers and other criminals are rational actors who carefully plan their crimes and who would be deterred by a strong threat of swift and severe punishment. If they instead decide that disadvantages outweigh benefits, they will decline to begin interacting or stop the interaction if already begun. By taking a skeptical approach to social change, functionalism supports the status quo and is thus often regarded as a conservative perspective. For example, a pastor may emphasize love (an affective communal value) while a businessman may value efficiency a system value as more important than love in a business context (Bartos and Wehr, 2002). Their understanding of the situation and subsequent interaction will be very different from those arising from the more typical shaking of hands. ; social stratification: The hierarchical arrangement of social classes, or castes, within a society. Read the following passage from DuBois article as he articulates double consciousness: It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at ones self through the eyes of others, of measuring ones soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. Generally, wealth involves tangibles, such as money or land (Weber, 1978). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and the little house shrinks to a hut." Company Reg no: 04489574. Utilitarianism is a general view of human behavior that says people act to maximize their pleasure and to reduce their pain. Because of this contradiction, conflict behavior heavily influenced by hostility can be damaging to the actors interest in the long term (Bartos and Wehr, 2002). The result is that socialization and social integration help establish a strong set of social rulesor, as Durkheim called it, a strong collective consciencethat is needed for a stable society. (1979). Similar to the view of the conservative intellectuals from which it grew, functionalism is skeptical of rapid social change and other major social upheaval. Social stratification: the hierarchical arrangement of social classes, or castes, a... Criticisms aside, all four perspectives taken together offer a more comprehensive of., O. J., & Wehr, P. ( 2002 ) continue it if it is already under way initiate... Can directly create incompatible goals by means of nudging those with different to... Missiles in Cuba ( durkheim, 1897/1952 ) communal goal which they work together in to... 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