as retirement benefits, health coverage, sick leave, the 40-hour workweek, and restrictions against child labor—existed in Marx’s time.
Marx maintained that two classes, the capitalists (also referred to as the bourgeoisie or “haves”), who owned the means of production (property, machinery, and other means of creating saleable goods or services), and the laborers working for the “haves” (also referred to as the proletariat or “have-nots”) would continue to live in conflict until the workers shared more equally in the profits of their labor. The more workers came to understand their plight, the more aware they would become of the injustice of their situation. Eventually, Marx believed, workers would rise up and overthrow capitalism, forming a new, classless society. Collective ownership—shared ownership of the means of production—would be the new economic order (Marx and Engels [1848] 1969).
The idea of the bourgeoisie (the capitalist exploiters who own the factories) and the proletariat (the exploited workers who sell their labor) has carried over to analysis of modern-day conflicts among groups in society. For example, from a conflict perspective, Hector in Brazil and millions like him in other countries are part of the reserve labor force—a cheap labor pool that can be called on when labor is needed and disregarded when demand is low, thus meeting the changing labor needs of industry and capitalism. This pattern results in permanent economic insecurity and poverty for Hector and those like him.
Many branches of the conflict perspective have grown from the original ideas of Marx. Here, we mention four contributions to conflict theory, those of American sociologists Harriet Martineau ([1837] 1962), W. E. B. Du Bois ([1899] 1967), Ralf Dahrendorf (1959), and Lewis Coser (1956). As you can see, social conflict has been a major focus of their sociological investigations.
Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), generally considered the first female sociologist, wrote several books that contribute to our understanding of modern sociological research methods and provided a critique of the failure of the United States to live up to its democratic principles, especially as they related to women. She argued that social laws influence social behavior and that societies can be measured on their social progress (including how much freedom they give to individuals and how well they treat the most oppressed members of society). Her work represents the foundation of current feminist and conflict theories (Martineau 1838).
Another early American conflict theorist was W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), the first African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard University. After being denied full-time positions at White universities, Du Bois founded a sociology program in 1898 at Atlanta University, a Black college. There, he established a significant research center and trained a generation of Black social scientists. In 1899, he published The Philadelphia Negro (one of the first truly scientific studies in North America), and in 1903, he completed a classic sociological work, The Souls of Black Folk. His work was truly groundbreaking (Morris 2015).
Du Bois, like other early sociological theorists, believed that although research should be scientifically rigorous and fair-minded, the ultimate goal of sociological work was social improvement—not just human insight. Throughout his life, Du Bois documented and lambasted the status of Black Americans, noting that African Americans were an integral part of U.S. society but not fully accepted into it.
Du Bois helped establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He stressed the need for minority groups to become advocates for their rights—to object loudly when those in power act to disadvantage minorities—and to make society more just (Du Bois [1899] 1967). He was—and continues to be—an inspiration for many sociologists who believe that their findings should be used to create a more humane social world (Mills 1956).
▲ Harriet Martineau (left) published a critique of the United States’ failure to live up to its democratic principles 11 years before Karl Marx’s most famous work, but she was not taken seriously as a scholar for more than a century because she was female—the first feminist theorist. Karl Marx (center) is known as the founder of conflict theory. W. E. B. Du Bois (right) continued the development of conflict theory and was among the first to apply that theory to U.S. society, especially to issues of race.
© Getty/Bettmann/Contributor
© Getty/Bettmann/Contributor
© Photo by Cornelius M. Battey, 1918. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
A half century later, in 1959, Ralf Dahrendorf (1929–2009) argued that society is always in the process of change and affected by forces that bring about change. Dahrendorf refined Marx’s ideas in several ways. He pointed out that capitalism had survived, despite Marx’s prediction of a labor revolt, because of improved conditions for workers (e.g., unions, the establishment of labor laws, and workplace regulations). Dahrendorf also maintained that, instead of divisions based on ownership, conflict had become based on authority.
Dahrendorf noted that those with lower-status positions, such as Hector, could form interest groups and engage in conflict with those in higher positions of authority. Interest groups, such as the members of Hector’s favela, share a common situation or common interests. In Hector and his neighbors’ case, these interests include a desire for sanitation, running water, electricity, jobs, and a higher standard of living. From within such interest groups, conflict groups arise to fight for changes. There is always potential for conflict when those without power realize their common position and form interest groups. How much change or violence is brought about depends on how organized those groups become.
Dahrendorf’s major contribution is the recognition that conflict over resources results in conflict not just between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie but among a multitude of interest groups, including old people versus young people, rich versus poor, one region of the country versus another, Christians versus non-Christians, and so forth. This acknowledges multiple rifts in the society based on interest groups.
Whereas Marx emphasized the divisive nature of conflict, other theorists have offered a modified theory of conflict in society. American theorist Lewis Coser took a different approach to conflict from that of Marx, arguing that it can strengthen societies and the organizations within them. According to Coser, problems in a society or group lead to complaints or conflicts—a warning message to the group that all is not well. Resolution of the conflicts shows that the group is adaptable in meeting the needs of its members, thereby creating greater loyalty to the group. Thus, conflict provides the message of what is not working to meet people’s needs, and the system adapts to the needs for change because of the conflict (Coser 1956; Simmel 1955).
In summary, conflict theorists advance the following key ideas:
Conflict and the potential for conflict underlie all social relations.
Groups of people look out for their self-interest and try to obtain resources and make sure they are distributed primarily to members of their own group.
Social change is desirable, particularly changes that bring about a greater degree of social equality.
The existing
