A comparative study on the Conflict theory of Karl Marx and Max Web
By: Pujan Jung Gurung Institute of Crisis Management Roll no: 5
A Report Submitted to:
Mr. Craig Walker
Institute of Crisis Management Studies
Tribhuwan University
21st July, 2014
Karl Marx (1818-1883) sees power in society as a main starting point of conflict. Marx gave his ideas on human potential, the historical methods, class conflict, class consciousness and communism. Marx demanded everyone to attain their full potential. Where he considered the capitalism as an economic system aimed to keep power
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He too believed social division is based on two other factors; social status and political influence. Both the elements without economic strength can possess power in society. For instances Mother Teresa, Gandhi who had a great deal of social prestige but were economically poor could hold power in society. Similarly, a local politician earning an average salary probably can hold a great deal of power in the community. In addition to this social groups would identify themselves not only according to wealth, but more deeply by ethnic and cultural background and by shared style of life. The possession of power is central element in conflict theory, and has occupied central space in Weber’s work on the type of authority. He has defined power as the ability to impose one’s will on another, even when the other resists. Authority is legitimate power which is exercised with the consent of the ruled. According to him distribution of power and authority is the basis of social conflict. He stated that power is essential tied with to the personality of individual and authority is always associated with social positions. Also stated power just a factual relation, authority a legitimate relation of domination and
Moreover, it argues that economic exploitation causes political oppression and the powerful will then use their power to turn the state into a “servant of bourgeois economic” (Marx). For that reason, the only way to breakout of this conflict is through revolution, in which the working class people overthrows the owner of the capitalist system. Conflict theorists might argue, for instance, religion fulfills the bourgeois interests by appeasing the population by pacifying them. In essence, under this theory there will always be conflicts for scarce resources, and whenever one group gains control of the resources there will be an oppressed group. And according to Marx, this can be broken if we have a classless society where resources are allocated equally.
Karl Marx was the founder of the Marxist approach. It is similar to the functionalist approach. Marx believed that, like Parson’s, society shaped individuals’ behaviour and that the economy decides an individuals’ place within society. He said that the two classes were; bourgeoisie/capitalists and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie were the people who owned factories and businesses that employed people (the proletariats) to work for them. There were many proletariats and fewer bourgeoisies. Marx claimed that there would always be conflict between the two classes because the proletariats wanting higher wages while the bourgeoisies, who have lots of power over the media, legal system and school curricula, want to keep wages low to increase profits. This conflict leads to this approach being called a conflict model, explaining why there would be conflict within society and explaining the cause of revolution. False consciousness occurs because the bourgeoisie shape society without the proletariats being aware of it.
The conflict perspective, or conflict theory, derives from the ideas of Karl Marx, who believed society is a dynamic entity constantly undergoing change driven by class conflict. Conflict theorists generally see social change as abrupt, even revolutionary, rather than incremental (https://courses.lumenlearning.com).
Karl Marx is the founder of conflict theory which views a society that is capable of being a principle of competition and conflict. Conflict theory is simple to understand in which it suggests that society has inequality between people and social groups. Conflict theory would suggest that conflicts and tensions emerge when power, resources, and status are distributed unevenly between distinct groups in society. Its groups who are
The purpose of this essay is to analyse Weber’s theory of authority and power in order to establish its role in the modern contemporary world today. Weber, in his most acclaimed writings, discusses his three ideal types of authority being outlined as traditional, charismatic and rational-legal authority. He believes that in order for any political leader or political establishment to hold legitimate authority over its peoples, they must have either one of these types of authority. All of these types of power and authority can be referred to in some way in today’s contemporary world using examples of differing political leaders and systems. However, Weber’s writings were conducted in 1922 and may be considered as out-dated, and not as relevant as they were at his time of writing. Also, many dispute that Weber’s types of authority were perhaps not entirely relatable and Martin Spencer, like many other critics of Weber’s work in fact argue that there should have been four types of authority. Hence why these issues must be discussed in order to conclude whether Weber’s ideal types of authority are representative of political leaders and governments, and whether or not they can be associated with the contemporary world we live in today.
Marx viewed society as a conflict between two classes in competition for material goods. He looked at the history of class conflicts and determined that the coming of the industrial age was what strengthened the capitalist revolution. Marx called the dominant class in the capitalist society the bourgeoisie and the laborers the proletariat. The bourgeoisie owned or controlled the means of production, exploited laborers, and controlled the goods produced for its own needs. He believed that the oppressed class of laborers was in a position to organize itself against the dominating class. He felt that it was the course of nature, that is, it is the way that society evolves and that the communist society would be free of class conflict, "the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." (Marx & Engels 1948, 37)
Karl Marx is one of the most influential and revolutionary philosopher, economist and sociologist of the 19th century. His thoughts not only shaped our understandings of the capitalistic world but also created a new system of social organization, communism. His ideology also defined the key political figures of the cold war period such as Stalin, Mao and Castro. Without Marx, the modern history would have been completely different. Despite his rather bourgeoisie family background, he was able to closely observe the struggle of proletariat and identified the injustices in the capitalist system.
Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a revolutionary German economic theorist and communist with many publications on sociology, economics and politics. Many of his writings can be used and applied into the media. Marx stated that in prehistoric times, people had no concept of private ownership, and everything was shared freely. There was no government to rule over everyone, but small tribes of people who each had their own leaders. This was known as primitive communism. As time went by, people became greedy and craved wealth. Private ownership of land led to the class system developing, with the upper class owning the land that the lower classes lived on and worked off. This became the feudal system, which was headed by a king. This system suited the upper class however it also meant that the lower class was always kept at the bottom, with no way of moving up from their positions. Industrialisation in the 1700’s meant that power in society fell into the hands of the wealthy, as they owned the land and had the money to build factories,
Marx advocated social reform for the proletariat (workers).The focus of Marx’s conflict theory is that by eliminating privilege, the overall welfare of the society can be increased. This would then create a true equality
Conflict theory was formed by Karl Marx which spoke on how conflict theory works for those with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by suppressing the poor and powerless.
Conflict Theory derives from the ideas of Karl Marx, who saw humanity as a ground of disparity that generates conflict and social change (Delisi, 2002,
Marx’s view on social change is due to the struggle between different classes within society who are constantly competing with each other to improve their way of life and the condition that they are in. Marxists analysis leads to the conclusion that capitalism; the currently dominant form of economic management, leads to the oppression of the proletariat; who not only make up the majority of the world 's population, but who also spend their lives working for the benefit of the bourgeoisie or the wealthy ruling class in society. Since the death of Karl Marx in 1883 his viewpoints have not been viewed not to be relevant. Many times since his death his viewpoints have come up as every new generation challenges the unequal, unjust and the people who support every capitalism system and each new generation looks for ideas and a method to change the world we live in. People who are classed as
Karl Marx, a philosopher, journalist, and revolutionary socialist, is considered the father of conflict theory. He pointed out the continuous competition for power between different classes in society and how the powerful groups exploit those with less. He suggested social order is
Karl Marx: Conflict Theory The most influential socialist thinker from the 19th century is Karl Marx. Karl Marx can be considered a great philosopher, social scientist, historian or revolutionary. Marx proposed what is known as the conflict theory. The conflict theory looks at how certain social interactions occur through conflict. People engage in conflict everyday to gain more power then others in society. Karl Marx is known for studying the conflicts that occur between different classes. Karl Marx has introduced some radical ideas and theories to society through his writings. As the industrial revolution moved forward in society, so did the widening gap between class structures. Karl Marx studied the differences arising between the
Karl Marx, also a philosopher was popularly known for his theories that best explained society, its social structure, as well as the social relationships. Karl Marx placed so much emphasis on the economic structure and how it influenced the rest of the social structure from a materialistic point of view. Human societies progress through a dialectic of class struggle, this means that the three aspects that make up the dialectic come into play, which are the thesis, antithesis and the synthesis (Avineri, 1980: 66-69). As a result of these, Marx suggests that in order for change to come about, a class struggle has to first take place. That is, the struggle between the proletariat and the capitalist class, the class that controls