Social Conflict In Karl Weber And Weber's Conflict Theory

In the conflict theory, power is at the center of all social relationships. When a person obtains power in a social area, it is natural for this person to attempt to expand the influence that they have to other social areas. This level of influence and power only falls in the hands of a few people. As a result, society ranks people by status and level of authority. In order for these select few to remain in power, they must legitimize their power and conceal the full extent of their power. They do this by implementing an ideology. The ideology must bring forth a set of values to the people. It must explain the state of the world, and it must justify both the current positioning of power and the few individuals that hold this power. Other approaches, such as functionalism, talk about society in a positive light and support the status quo. However, the conflict theory attempts to focus on the discord that is within society. The focus lies on the unequal distribution of power and resources in society.

However, Marx is not the only one who wrote about the conflict theory. There have been many others. Among them was a sociologist by the name of Max Weber. Weber saw sociology as an area of science that deals with social action. While Marx talked about his version as it relates to capitalism, Weber’s version is very close to the general aspects of the conflict theory. Another sociologist by the name of Georg Simmel had his own version of the conflict theory. Simmel saw individual interaction as the makeup of society. He believed conflict and harmony went hand in hand. With the existence of multiple interpretations there has been a fair share of criticism when it comes to the conflict theory. Some believe that the conflict theory takes the side of those who are oppressed and have no