K. Marx Conflict Theory - Essay Example

Conflict Theory College: Introduction In the modern world, power is present in every relationship and in each individual.It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force (Johnson, 2008, p.21). Decisions made by the elite class of people and leading organizations in any society governments affect the lives of many people though some studies have shown that most of these decisions are usually made to serve their own economic interests and values of which includes the means of production and property ownership. Such decisions trigger inequality in humanity and resentment from persons who are excluded from the decision making process. The disparity of this decision-making and power allocation enables the fortunate to enforce their will on the less fortunate (Johnson, 2008, p.50). This essay will explore Marx’ conflict theory, discuss his opinion about classes as well as how they conflict. Karl Max was born in Germany in the 19th century where he studied and graduated with a degree in law and philosophy. Many scholars term him as the father of philosophy, a great social scientist a revolutionary as well as a historian. Back then, Marx was very popular with his ‘anti-bourgeois sentiment’, a factor that made him not to believe in German education system thus changing his career to journalism. In the same period, Marx developed what is currently known as conflict theory, a theory that looks at how societal interactions through conflict. Conflict theory starts with a notion that the two main groups of people in any a society are the wealthy and the poor (Turner, 2001, p.79). The theory also explains the consequences that arise when one group attempts to rebel against the other group and the various roles a group of people (or one person) has over another group of people. In general, the theory is about the social control that the rich have over the masses or the general population. In addition, the theory portrays Marx’s believe that one society or organization only functions in order to try and better their social situation, which usually results in some type of social upheaval (Vito and Maahs, 2012, p.101). Types of classes Marx is popular for studying conflicts that arise between various classes though his focus was on two main classes namely the proletarians (working class who were usually poor) and the bourgeoisie (middle class/employers whom he associate with wealth). He argued that the gap between class structures continued to widen as the industrial revolution flourished in the society. According to Marx, proletarians are “…..a class of laborers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labor increases capital” (Marx and Engels, 2012, p 48). He went ahead to say that proletarians are basically reduced to a ‘commodity’ and they were highly exploited by the middle class who owned factories and industries. Bourgeoisie on the other hand are the middle class people who were controlling industries in the capitalist countries and they were the governing class in Marx’s days. According to chapter four of the ‘The Communist Manifesto’, bourgeoisie comprised of commercial associations and upper-class landowners and their rise into power came about after the eradication of the feudal systems that were initially ordering the society (Marx and Engels, 2012, p.60). In other words, bourgeoisie are the capitalist who own the factories, the products made in the factories, and controlled all the trade (Bartos and Wehr, 2010, p.55). He classified bourgeoisie as highly exploitive individuals and who owned means of production as a result of exploiting other people in the society. According to Marx, struggle, rather than peaceful growth, was the engine of progress; strife was the father of all things, and social conflict was the core of the historical process (Turner, 2001, p.114). Marx believed that the basis of the social order in every society is the production of economic goods (Turner, 2001, p.114). What is produced, how it is manufactured, and how it is exchanged determine the differences in people’s wealth, social status as well as power. Reasons for conflict The theory of conflict portrays the working class as a highly disadvantaged group that is attached to the external world of commodities and alienating themselves from their inner world also known as externalisation, the materialistic world of consumerism. On the other hand, this process improves that interests of the capitalists (the rich) who thereby hold a strong interest, with help from the media, in ensuring the working class are kept busy working by consuming the products of their labour. Marx believed that people hold their own personal power and that classes prompts into inequality (Johnson, 2008, p.38). Therefore, he argues that the main reasons why classes would conflict is the fact that the poor (working class) are enslaved or exploited and their actions are controlled by something outside themselves to benefit the capitalist system that is controlling the labour division. The rich who own important factors of production in most cases also own the means of intellectual production since it is their ideas that dominate through more ‘air time’ (Schellenberg, 2012, p.38). Therefore, these inequalities and exploitation usually prompt to conflict between these two classes though it does not get to the extents that Marx had envisaged. However, Marxian conflict theory can be applied to a number of social disputes as it relates to how one group controls the rest, the struggle within the oppressed group, and the way that the controlling group maintains power (Johnson, 2008, p.41). Marx believed very much in existence of socio-economic classes and claimed that this is the main defining factor in the current industrial society. According to the theory of conflict, Proletariats felt that they were being treated poorly by the middle class people because their incomes were only supporting their survival and they had no any chance of accomplishing a higher-class status. The middle class people or bourgeoisie on the other hand were exploiting and degrading the Proletariat people so that they could improve the production in the society, an aspect that developed capitalism and helped it grow faster. As a result, the middle class took over leading to a situation whereby the rich continued to become rich with the poor continuing to be poor. This made Marx to start radicalizing the working class to stand up to the bourgeoisie and cause a class conflict (Bartos and Wehr, 2010, p.51). Conflict is Inevitable In his 1848 publication, which is known as ‘The Communist Manifesto’, Marx started envisaging conflict between these two social-economic classes and he would radicalize working class to revolt against the middle class. His acts of radicalization and being an extremist made him to be pushed-out of Germany because he was fueling conflict between the two classes. In his manifesto, he made statements such as “the fall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are ‘equally inevitable’” (Tar, 2011, 36). With this statement, Marx meant that it would come a time when the proletarians (working class) would revolt against the bourgeoisie (middle class/employers) who in his days were highly exploitive. Marx believed that there would come a time when the employees who were working in the factories owned by a few royal families would start a revolution in order to stop this exploitation. As a champion of communism and as an advocate of a “classless society”, it is easier to understand his principles though they are completely inapplicable. According to him, there was no way conflict between these two social groups could have been avoided though this has never happened despite a time lapse of over one century. Karl Marx is up to date referred to as the father of ‘philosophy of social revolution’ and he was extremely radical by sensitizing the low class members of the society to revolt against the well to do families (middle class) that were socially and economically doing well. His acts of radicalization are believed to be the main reasons why he was forced out of Germany. He was advocating for an establishment of an egalitarian society whereby all people would be socially and economically equal for he believed that this was the foundation of social coherence in any society. Marx envisioned to see a “classless society” that was free from all forms of exploita­tions. He was convinced that capitalist system would fall (Bartos and Wehr, 2010, p.78). However, his claim is subject to criticism since it is over a century and above yet there has never been a revolution in the capitalist countries as proletarian revolt against the bourgeoisie as he had envisioned. Despite Marx strong ideas and principles that proletarians would overthrow the bourgeoisie, it has been over a century yet workers in the United Kingdom among other capitalist nations have not revolted or protested against capitalism (Kornblum and Smith, 2008, p.90). His manifesto statement is also highly criticized by theorists like Max Weber who claimed that Marx’s model of the two classes was too simple and further argued that power and social status derived from economic status are not sources of inequality as Marx claimed (Kornblum and Smith, 2008, p.92). Scholars such as Dahrendorf have released publications like that of 1959 made by Dahrendorf in attempt to explain why there has not been any revolution that has occurred despite the fact that Marx’s prophecy is over a century old Marx’s vision (Tar, 2011, 36). Dahrendorf raised four main reasons that comprised of the element of ‘fragmentation of capitalist class’ which meant that productions in the 20th and now in the 21st century are owned by stockholders unlike in the 19th century where they were owned by families. His second point was that workers in the modern factories have prestigious jobs unlike in the 1800s when they were doing manual jobs that made them feel exploited and mistreated by the rich (Anheier, Toepler and List, 2010, p.117). Dahrendorf’s third point is that industries have more extensive organizations that gives workers strengths that they were lacking in the 1800s and finally that the concept of extensive legal protections with respect to protecting the rights of the workers. A critical analysis of these points can explain why conflict among various socio-economic classes has never reached to the extents of massive revolution as Marx predicted. However, there exist some forms of mild conflicts between these classes in individual enterprises or industries. Such mild disputes can be solved amicably by applying this theory (Schellenberg, 2012, p.38). In conclusion, Karl Marx who is regarded as the father of philosophy of social revolution believed very much in existence of social-economic classes that according to him were brought about by the industrial revolution. His theory of conflict argues that there are two major classes in the society namely the working class or Proletariat and the middle class people whom he referred to as bourgeoisie. These two classes were formed during the revolution of the industrial age whereby royal families who owned significant factors of production were exploiting their employees (working class) primarily to enrich themselves. As a result of this exploitation, Marx believed that there would come a time when workers would revolt against the bourgeoisie as they fight for equitable distribution of resources and fair treatment in the society. However, the prophecy of this theory has never been achieved and it might never be fulfilled because of various factors as explained by some theorists like Dahrendorf. However, there exist a few mild conflicts between the rich and the poor though this occurs mostly in individual organizations and sectors. Such class disputes can be solved by applying this theory. Bibliography Top of Form Anheier, H. K., Toepler, S., & List, R., 2010, International encyclopedia of civil society, Springer, New York. Bartos, O. J., & Wehr, P. E., 2010, Using conflict theory, Cambridge University Press, New York. Johnson, D. P., 2008, Contemporary sociological theory: An integrated multi-level approach, Springer, New York. Kornblum, W., & Smith, C. D., 2008, Sociology in a changing world, Thomson/Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. Marx, K., & Engels, F., 2012, Manifesto of the Communist Party, Start Publishing LLC, Lanham. Schellenberg, J. A., 2012, Conflict resolution: Theory, research, and practice, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY. Tar, Z., 2011, The Frankfurt school: The critical theories of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick. Turner, J. H., 2001, Handbook of sociological theory, Springer, New York. Vito, G. F., & Maahs, J. R., 2012, Criminology: Theory, research, and policy, Jones & Bartlett Learning. Sudbury, Mass. Bottom of Form Read More