Conflict Theory : Poverty And Inequality Essay

Conflict Theory was "influenced by Karl Marx's socioeconomic view of the elite exploiting the masses." (Parillo 12). The conflict perspective focuses on the inequalities that create racial and ethnic tensions between groups. In contrast to the fundamentalist's emphasis on stability, conflict theorists maintain, "Racism has much to do with maintaining power and controlling resources." Society is seen as being continually involved in struggles and disagreements as diverse groups struggle over limited resources. The system is hierarchical and characterized by social inequality. Conflict theorists argue that the rich and powerful force social order on the poor and weak and that existing social patterns benefit some people while depriving others. "Conflict theorists

A sociological imagination is the idea of how a personal experience can affect society as a whole. At some point a personal issue becomes a public issue. Conflict theory is the idea of competition over limited resources such as money. The theory is about domination and power rather than peace and cooperation. Those with power and wealth try to maintain that position by suppressing those without. The United States poverty is most easily explained by the conflict theory because in the US, the wealthy stay wealthy and the poor stay poor due to suppression.

Social conflict theory is a Marxist-based social theory which argues that individuals and groups (social classes) within society have differing amounts of material and non-material resources (the wealthy vs. the poor) and that the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with less power.[citation needed]

I chose to read the article “Leveraging Conflict for Social Justice: How “Leadable” Moments Can Transform School Culture” by Enrique Aleman, Jr. The article discusses how an elementary school principle implements her vision of success within a school district that has a diverse group of students with low socioeconomical status. She envisions an environment where faculty, staff, students and parents are working together to create an idyllic school atmosphere. Whenever conflict manifests itself between key stakeholders the principle capitalizes on the instances as “leadable” moments associated with social justice. This case describes how a principle is tested by a teacher’s response to racist and bigoted language, and the implications surrounding the parents and district concerns regarding diversity and equal education opportunities for all students involved (Aleman, 2009).

Poverty in America is severe. One third of our population lives under the poverty line. The poverty line being a family of three or more surviving on $36,000 or less. This transfers to 20.5 million people. Seven million of these people being women with children. 6.7% of our population has an income less than 9,000 for a family of three. These numbers are astounding and they are only on the rise. This means that more families are going without food. This means more children are starving and getting sick and dying. One in four families are going without food. This is a huge problem. Everyone says that poverty is a problem but most people are ignorant to the fact that it is beyond our comprehension how big it is.

Poverty is not easily defined, because it plays out in many different ways. To be in poverty, one is generally making at most three times the amount of money they would need to sustain themselves and their family members living a minimalist lifestyle. These families tend to eat cheaper food, use public transport, have less access to good educational institutions, are exposed to harmful environments, and have less access to healthcare, among many other things. Through the lenses of conflict theory and functionalism, one can begin to understand why poverty so affects many aspects many people’s lives in ways that carry them through adulthood, and sometimes pervades later generations of their families.

Conflict theory is a rather ambiguous theoretical example in sociological thinking. This theory was born in the 1950s by many sociologists like Lewis Coser and Ralf Dahrendorf. These sociologists and many others joined terms such as, phenomena of power, interests, coercion, and conflict to form this theory. In other words, Conflict theory is mainly about power divisions and class struggle lead to conflict. This theory plays an important role when it comes to sociological studies, since it proves that sociology also has focus on phenomena of power and conflict. Since conflict theory is mainly about class struggle, one important type of conflict theory is the Marxism Conflict theory. As stated before, this theory has led to many important

Throughout life, one encounters many social situations. The way a person processes these situations says a lot about his or her general outlook on life. While there are many theories, there are three primary Theoretical Perspectives: Functionalist Theory, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interaction Theory. Personally, I struggled in choosing a single perspective. I believe that if one perspective had a perfect explanation, there would probably be only one perspective. Since this is not the case however, it must be admitted that no single theory base perfectly explains every social situation. I have found that for me, the Conflict Theory explains situations around the world most consistently.

How does Class, state ,and social controls within a capitalistic society lead to increase crime due to the criminal laws and criminal justice system imposed on the lower middle class.

Whichever groups have the power is a central concern of this theory. These Marxist statements are the central arguments of all conflict theorist's statements of truth. The second part of the conflict theorists assumptions is that the different parts of the social system as a whole are intertwined, not because of a shared value system, however, but because of the fact that one group is inherently dominant over the other. This dominance happens because one group, the dominant group, controls the resources. The third part of the assumptions of the conflict theorist is that society does not necessarily have needs, but individuals and groups do. Because the dominant group has the access to wealth, power and prestige, they have the ability to have their needs defined as "system needs." The fourth part of the conflict theorist's assumptions is the basic question of "Who benefits?" from the social arrangements of the day. On any issue in society, there are people who benefit and people who don't benefit. This conflict always gives the advantage to the stronger party. The fifth part of the conflict theorists system of assumptions is the conflict itself, which lends tension, hostility, competitions, disagreement over goals, and values, as well as violence. Not always are these issues negative, however. They can act as an adhesive to help join groups together in the pursuit of a positive goal. The sixth and final part of the

Imagine that you and your next door neighbor were going to run a foot race. Then, your neighbor's friend holds you stationery until your neighbor has completed a great portion of the race. Finally, your neighbor's friend releases you so that you may complete in the race. Sprinting vigorously and freely, it would be nearly impossible to win. Could you win or at minimum, could you be any type of competition? This analogy is equivalent to the governmental position taken in the 1960's particularly 1968—the year that the Civil Right's Act was enacted. But, why mention the Civil Right's Act, everyone is equal now right? Wrong! The act was a success on paper, but failed to do the most important thing, and that is to give people in poverty

One can easily identify the fact that poverty is generally considered as one among the most serious problems in human life. But the mainstream society provides less importance to this serious problem because human life did undergo transformation from empathy to disinterestedness. The western nations are comparatively safe from poverty and related issues, but the third-world nations are under the threat of the same. The problems related to global poverty is unimaginable because it forces human beings to do anything, just for survival. Still, world nations, especially the developed nations, can play the most important role in alleviating poverty from the world. Thesis statement: Global poverty, the most serious problem faced by humanity primarily

Poverty and inequality exist in every developed culture and often are only patched in order for society to continue upwardly. Poverty and inequality in the United States exists for many reasons; reasons that very from the prospective lens. Interpretive theories in particular ask us to question our reality and its constructs. Interpretive theories require us to looks at the world as a social realm, one that we created and constantly change. Interpretive theories study the relationship between power and the construction of social roles as well as the invisible collection of patterns and habits that make up domination, (Delgado & Stefanic, 2001). Susan Kemp argues that the view of the world is dominated by the experiences of white western

A social problem, is “a general factor that effects and damages society”. It can be used to describe an issue or a problem within a certain group of people or an area in the world. Examples of contemporary social problems today include anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Poverty is an example of a social problem that exists all over the world, and to different extents. In the UK, poverty has effected at least a third of the population, as shown by the Office of National Statistics, providing evidence that it is a massive social problem in the country. Tameside has a big poverty problem. 1 in 4 children in Tameside are born into poverty, and workers in Tameside earn significantly less than other workers in the rest of the North-West area. In addition, Tameside has the largest proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits compared to the rest of the North West of England.

The social conflict paradigm is a theory based on society being a complex system characterized by inequality and conflict that generate social change. Personal life experiences dictate me to believe this theory is true. Discussion of the theory in question and how it pertains to myself will be covered in the paper. Social conflict can be seen all over the world we live in: in sports, politics and normal social engagements. The main point I have experienced with this theory would be the fact that I don’t come from a rich, powerful, and prestigious family, which in turn limits my chances of being successful. Karl Marx studied social conflict His entire life and wanted to reduce social inequality. The social