The Civil Rights Movement – a time period in recent American history that was the turning point for a large minority group. For the first time, African Americans were demanding rights equal to those of their white counterparts. There were a few factors that contributed to this gross change in dynamic; one of the most prevalent was the sociological perspective of conflict theory. Conflict theory – derived from Karl Marx’s ideology that social inequality is created by conflict over access to resources – suggests that conflict between competing groups or demographics is a direct result of human behavior in social contexts. Conflict theory was born of the need to take a critical look at how society functions and how it encourages change and progress;
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Trayvon’s tragic death brought to light the ugly underbelly of police brutality and how, statistically, it effects African Americans at a much higher rate than any other demographic in the United States. The Black Lives Matter Movement begs modern society to recognize the structural and systemized racism that has been engrained into the fabric of past and present American culture; to realize that racism experienced at the microsociological level is a societal output of the disproportionate privilege white people are granted. As an aside, this brings up the idea that conflict theory, as a disadvantage, is weakest at the individual level (not unlike other social theories). It works more efficiently to explain social change and the uneven distribution of benefits on a macrosociological level rather than the effects of the Marxist conflict theory on a smaller scale in individual lives. It is a framework for social change however is weak in describing social stability – the ability or inability to explain why people are able to function together and cooperate. As a result, it is often compared and contrasted with structural functionalism – an ordered system of structures that highlights the how and why people interact with one another. Many sociologists also believes that the Marxist …show more content…
Throughout history, the conflict among religions has been used to divide and progress society. Karl Marx noted this early in his career as he saw the bourgeoisie utilized religion as a sufficient tool to keep the proletariat content with their status in society. When he encouraged the proletariat to be critical of their beliefs, the outcry against injustice was almost immediate. The conflict that arose from this was a result of humans seeking the rewards they deserved for hard work in this life rather than the afterlife. The effects of Marx’s work is seen today, with many people beginning to see religion as a divisive power rather than a cohesive one. Take, for example, Christian persecution in some African countries and the unanimous refusal to allow Syrian refugees into America based on their Islamic faith. Though the main Abrahamic fundamentalist religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism share common core beliefs related to moral and ethical principles, the conflict that still manages to arise between them is astronomical. The “us-vs-them” mentality of the patriarchal structure of these religions also extends heavily to the stratification among sex and
Trayvon’s tragic death brought to light the ugly underbelly of police brutality and how, statistically, it effects African Americans at a much higher rate than any other demographic in the United States. The Black Lives Matter Movement begs modern society to recognize the structural and systemized racism that has been engrained into the fabric of past and present American culture; to realize that racism experienced at the microsociological level is a societal output of the disproportionate privilege white people are granted. As an aside, this brings up the idea that conflict theory, as a disadvantage, is weakest at the individual level (not unlike other social theories). It works more efficiently to explain social change and the uneven distribution of benefits on a macrosociological level rather than the effects of the Marxist conflict theory on a smaller scale in individual lives. It is a framework for social change however is weak in describing social stability – the ability or inability to explain why people are able to function together and cooperate. As a result, it is often compared and contrasted with structural functionalism – an ordered system of structures that highlights the how and why people interact with one another. Many sociologists also believes that the Marxist …show more content…
Throughout history, the conflict among religions has been used to divide and progress society. Karl Marx noted this early in his career as he saw the bourgeoisie utilized religion as a sufficient tool to keep the proletariat content with their status in society. When he encouraged the proletariat to be critical of their beliefs, the outcry against injustice was almost immediate. The conflict that arose from this was a result of humans seeking the rewards they deserved for hard work in this life rather than the afterlife. The effects of Marx’s work is seen today, with many people beginning to see religion as a divisive power rather than a cohesive one. Take, for example, Christian persecution in some African countries and the unanimous refusal to allow Syrian refugees into America based on their Islamic faith. Though the main Abrahamic fundamentalist religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism share common core beliefs related to moral and ethical principles, the conflict that still manages to arise between them is astronomical. The “us-vs-them” mentality of the patriarchal structure of these religions also extends heavily to the stratification among sex and