Conflict Theories Flashcards
Conflict Theory: Who Responding To
Developed in response to structural functionalism
Doesn’t mention Marx (US: 1950s)–neo-Marxist is critical theory
What’s missing from structural functionalism? POWER
Ralf Dahrendorf: Connection to Marx
Dialectic of power & resistance (lots of classes & opposing groups everywhere, like employers and employees)
Critical of Marx’s analysis of capitalism:
- post (or late) capitalist society–later in capitalism than Marx
- emergence of managerial occupations–aligned with rich, but without substantial capital (after WWII)
- decomposition of working class (high & low skilled labor)
Marx is right–it’s all abt power, but not the way he described
Dahrendorf: Consensus & Conflict
Both consensus & conflict are institutionalized
Consensus must exist within certain groups for conflict with other groups to occur (Parsons: Consensus, Dahrendorf: Conflict)
Conflict can lead to consensus (social change & new consensus)
Dahrendorf: Authority
Weber’s power
Imperatively coordinated associations
- Superordination, Subordination
- Interests
— Super has interest in maintaining status quo, sub doesn’t
— Latent vs manifest: built-in (invisible in structure)
Dahrendorf: Groups
LOOK THIS UP MORE
Quasi Group (shared interest--latent) Interest Group Conflict Group (all about power)
Dahrendorf: Criticisms
Too dependent on structural functionalism, not derived from Marx
No integration between consensus & conflict
C Wright Mills
Major critic of Parsons–ppl in 50s are too conformist
Class structure in US
- Ignored Marx (tho maybe 1950s)
- did not develop an explicit theory of conflict
- old vs new middle class (white collar in 1951, contrasting farmers and tradesppl of 1870s to office & bureaucracy of 1940s)
C Wright Mills: Power Elite
1956
- government, military, industry
- elites were all from Boston and New York, went to the same schools and country clubs–same Ivy League capitalistic militarism worldview
- ideally, elites come from all walks of life
- mass society–conformity, passivity in the light of democratic channels being erased
Randall Collins: Broad
Developed a micro-oriented general theory of conflict drawing on Marx, Weber, and Durkheim.
Randall Collins: from Marx
Social classes (and class cultures) fall along lines of property relations
Material conditions also impact ability to communicate & organize
Elites have control over mental means of production
Randall Collins: from Weber
Stratification is multi-dimensional–class mobilization & “mental production” are distinct
Ideas matter on their own–not just property/capitalism
Def of power: ability to enact your will despite resistance
Randall Collins: from Durkheim
importance of “mechanisms of emotional production”–ritual produces emotional bonding
Randall Collins: A Theory
Human beings are “sociable but conflict-prone animals”–constantly trying to maximize power in social relations
3 Parts:
- People live in self-constructed social worlds
- Others pull many of the strings that control one’s subjective experience
- conflicts develop over control as individuals seek to maximize their subjective social status
Randall Collins: Applied to Occupational Class Cultures
Most important: Dominance Relationships
- who is used to giving and receiving orders
Of Secondary Importance
- amount and structure of social communications
Upper Class:
- gives orders, diverse interactions (no sense of place, self-confidence, religion is formalized and other-worldly, status quo benefits you
Middle Class: limited interactions, give and take orders
Working Class: Almost exclusively receives orders, interact with limited others (values loyalty, toughness, wariness to strangers/superiors–from how they experience conflict and interact with others)
