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Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and
power are unevenly distributed between groups in society and that these conflicts
become the engine for social change. In this context, power can be understood as
!."#+/'!"#$%"$0 control of material resources and accumulated wealth, control of politics and the
institutions that make up society, and one's social status relative to others
!."#./.47 (determined not just by class but by race, gender, sexuality, culture, and religion,
L$7'5.%"$?,0 among other things).

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;$P0'O':00A$0 "A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses
are likewise small, it satisfies all social requirement for a
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residence. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and
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the little house shrinks to a hut." Wage Labour and Capital (1847)
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=3")+$./.47 Conflict theory originated in the work of Karl Marx, who focused on the causes and
consequences of class conflict between the bourgeoisie (the owners of the means of
I".%.>#"0 production and the capitalists) and the proletariat (the working class and the poor).
Focusing on the economic, social, and political implications of the rise of capitalism in
I34.%.>#"0 Europe, Marx theorized that this system, premised on the existence of a powerful
minority class (the bourgeoisie) and an oppressed majority class (the proletariat),
*+3#,#>$ created class conflict because the interests of the two were at odds, and resources were
unjustly distributed among them.

Within this system an unequal social order was maintained through ideological
coercion which created consensus--and acceptance of the values, expectations, and
conditions as determined by the bourgeoisie. Marx theorized that the work of
producing consensus was done in the "superstructure" of society, which is composed
of social institutions, political structures, and culture, and what it produced consensus
for was the "base," the economic relations of production.

Marx reasoned that as the socio-economic conditions worsened for the proletariat, QI=(19IN'R:NIS
they would develop a class consciousness that revealed their exploitation at the hands
of the wealthy capitalist class of bourgeoisie, and then they would revolt, demanding
changes to smooth the conflict. According to Marx, if the changes made to appease
conflict maintained a capitalist system, then the cycle of conflict would repeat.
However, if the changes made created a new system, like socialism, then peace and
stability would be achieved.

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Many social theorists have built on Marx's conflict theory to bolster it, grow it, and
refine it over the years. Explaining why Marx's theory of revolution did not manifest in
his lifetime, Italian scholar and activist Antonio Gramsci argued that the power of
ideology was stronger than Marx had realized and that more work needed to be done
to overcome cultural hegemony, or rule through common sense. Max Horkheimer and
Theodor Adorno, critical theorists who were part of The Frankfurt School, focused
their work on how the rise of mass culture--mass produced art, music, and media--
contributed to the maintenance of cultural hegemony. More recently, C. Wright Mills
drew on conflict theory to describe the rise of a tiny "power elite" composed of
military, economic, and political figures who have ruled America from the mid-
twentieth century.

Many others have drawn on conflict theory to develop other types of theory within the
social sciences, including feminist theory, critical race theory, postmodern and
postcolonial theory, queer theory, post-structural theory, and theories of globalization
and world systems. So, while initially conflict theory described class conflicts
specifically, it has lent itself over the years to studies of how other kinds of conflicts, Advertisement
like those premised on race, gender, sexuality, religion, culture, and nationality,
among others, are a part of contemporary social structures, and how they affect our
lives.

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Conflict theory and its variants are used by many sociologists today to study a wide
range of social problems. Examples include:

How today's global capitalism creates a global system of power and inequality.

How words play a role in reproducing and justifying conflict.

The causes and consequences of the gender pay gap between men and women.

Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

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