Sociology essay
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3_conflict_theories.pptxConflict theories
SOC 323 - Chapter 3
Activity
As we review the various theories, think about analyzing recent incidents involving the police and African Americans
When we are done, you will pick a theory and use it to analyze this issue
Early theories
Marx, Weber, and Simmel
Karl Marx
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.”
(Marx and Engels, 1848, Manifesto of the Communist Party).
Materialist dialectic
Superstructure
Infrastructure
Economy
Politics
Philosophy
Religion
Arts
Capitalists
Own the means of production
Control the economy
Workers
Sell their labor
Exploited
The classes of capitalism
Bourgeoisie
Proletariat
Value and Exploitation
How much you sell for
Production cost
Added value
Alienation
Product
Production process
Self
Other workers
Overproduction
Increased production
Exceeds demand
Production cutbacks
Unemployment
Economic crisis
Increased competition
Marx’s Mistake: The path of history
Pre-class societies
Asiatic societies
Ancient societies
Feudalism
Capitalism
Socialism
Communism
The Production of Class Consciousness
Level of Industrialization
Level of communication and transportation technologies
Level of worker concentration
Level of worker education
Level of production
Level of commodification
Level of worker communication
Level of exploitation
Level of alienation
Level of class consciousness
Social change
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How can we use this to explain…
Max Weber
No, class conflict is not inevitable like Marx said.
Critical conditions that withdraw political legitimacy
Correlation of dimensions of stratification
Large gaps between levels of stratification
Low rates of social mobility
Dimensions of stratification
Social class
Property
Skills
Party
Power
Polity
Status
Titles
Group memberships
Social categories
Think about it…
How do we fare in the US?
Routinization of charisma
Charismatic leader
Social change
Rational-legal authority
Bureaucracy
Georg Simmel
Capitalism is good!
Conflict is good!
The positive side of capitalism
Market societies
Choice of occupation
Freedom to join groups
Impersonal
Cut-throat
Positive side of conflict
If frequent but low in intensity and violence:
Regulation by law
Increases sense of group boundaries
Increases centralization of authority
Increases group solidarity
More likely in societies with high levels of structural interdependence
Contemporary theories
Ralf Dahrendorf
How do groups organize to pursue conflict in situations of inequality?
Legitimate power
Power
Authority
Imperatively coordinated associations
President/CEO
Department head
Team supervisor
Team supervisor
Department head
Technicians
Latent and manifest interests
Quasi groups
Interest groups
Conflict groups
Latent power interest
Manifest interests
Structure, members, goals
Actively engaged in conflict
Conditions of conflict
Technical
Members
Set of ideas/ ideology
Political
Ability to meet and organize
Place
Norms
Legality
Social
Communication
Structural patterns of recruitment
Dimensions of conflict
Violence (more common at beginning)
Emotional involvement (+)
Transcendent goals (+)
Intensity
Class organization (-)
Sense of absolute to relative deprivation (+)
Class organization (-)
Explicitly stated rational goals (-)
Normative regulation of conflict (-)
Social mobility (-)
Association of authority and rewards (+)
Lewis Coser
Towards a balanced theory of conflict
Causes of conflict
Subordinates withdraw legitimacy
Few channels to address grievances
Low rates of mobility
Increase in sense of deprivation
Conflict violence
Nonrealistic issues (values, morality)
Violent conflict
Conflict duration
Long-term conflict
Expansive goals
Low consensus over goals
Hard to determine victory or defeat point
Think about…
Illustrate Coser’s theory with an example of your choice
Functions of conflict
Violent and intense
Group consolidation
Suppression of dissent
Intra-group tensions
Structural interdependence
Frequent, low intensity/violence conflicts
Innovation and creativity to release hostilities
Increased system cohesion
Turner’s synthesis
Let’s make this more general
Model, part 1
System of interrelated units
Level of inequality in distribution of valued resources
Withdrawal of legitimacy by deprived
Increasing awareness of interest in changing the system of inequality
Model, part 2
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Withdrawal of legitimacy
Increasing awareness of interest in change
Level of emotional arousal
Rate of collective outbursts
Intensity of involvement
Level of organization into conflict groups
Model, part 3
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Level of organization into conflict groups
Likelihood of less violent conflict if…
Technical, political, and social conditions are realized
Interests are articulated independent of values
System capable of regularize conflict relations
Likelihood of more violent conflict if…
Failure to realize technical, political, and social conditions
Failure to clearly define interests independent of values
System incapable of regularizing conflict relations
Historical-comparative theories
What about the power of the state?
Focus on particular historical conditions
Social change dynamics
Non-elite mobilization
Weak state
Revolution
Elite mobilization
Non-elite mobilization
Physical concentration
Increasing solidarity
Low competition
Weakening of links with elites
Perceived exploitation
Low supervision
Receptiveness to radical ideology
Perceived threat from elites
Perceived lack of resources
Perceived weakness of state/elites
Dispersion
Lack of communication
High dependence on elite for resources
Lack of own resources
Traditions of inequality
Opportunities for upward mobility
Competition among non-elite
Weakening state power
Political forces
Decreased coercive and administrative power
Failure to make concessions
Demographic forces
Population growth
Price inflation
Younger age cohorts
Rural poverty
Urban migration of youth
Fiscal forces
Resource shortage
Inefficient and abusive tax collection
New revenue collection
High demands for patronage
Military expenditures
Cost of internal social control
Rigidity of the system
Geo-political engagements
Decrease in state legitimacy
Autonomy of the military
Randal Collins
From macro to micro
Micro level
Large inequalities
Highly ritualized interactions
Class cultures
Meso level: Control Systems
Coercion/ Material resources
Surveillance
Alienation
High ratio of supervisors
Symbolic resources
Standardized rules
Commitment to organizational goals
Less negative sanctions
Institutions
Technology, resources, organization, population
Productive economy
Strong state
State expansion (empire)
Need for control over new territories
Military, symbolic unification
Emotional payoff of interactions
People gather physically
Create boundaries for ritual practices
Common focus
Common emotional mood
Strong sense of identity
Polarizing world view
Perception of beliefs as morally right
Emotional charge to sacrifice to the group
Such as…
Micro-Level Violence
How do you mobilize individuals to commit violence in a conflict situation?
Ritualized and routinized violence
Neo-Marxian Theories: Eric Olin Wright
Why did Marx go wrong?
The problem of the middle class
Contradictory class locations
Power of skilled labor
Mediated class relations
Government workers
Stock holders
Path to transformative change
See Figure 3.4
Immanuel Wallerstein
World systems dynamics
Two types of world-systems
World-empires
Central political system
World-economies
Common division of labor
Military dominance
Economic tribute
Common culture
No political center or common culture
Endless accumulation of capital
The world-economy
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Core societies
Diversified economy
Semi-periphery
Intermediate
Peripheral societies
Narrow economy
Export-oriented
Politically weak
Exploit and are exploited
Well-paid labor force
Control terms of trade
Lessen tension between core and periphery
Powerful state system
Large consumer market
Forced and underpaid labor
Hegemonic states
Spain
Netherlands, France
Great Britain
United States
Signs of the end
Global recession
Financially unsustainable military operations
Political decentralization
Postmodernism and chaos theory
What next?
Arab Spring
G20 protest
IMF riots in Greece
Occupy Wall Street
