The sociologist who merged Marx's emphasis on class conflict with Weber's recognition of power in stratification is Max Weber. Weber's concept of social stratification goes beyond economic class and includes factors like power and status as well. He believed that power relations between different social groups are crucial in understanding societal inequality.
Karl Marx is the sociologist whose conflict theory is primarily based on. He believed that society is divided into factions that compete for resources and power, leading to conflict and change.
Social inequality reflects the social-conflict theorists ideas about social stratification.
Karl Marx
Conflict Perspective
Lewis Coser
Both the structural-functionalism and social conflict approaches offer valuable insights into social stratification. Structural-functionalism emphasizes how social systems work together to maintain stability and order, while social conflict theory highlights how power dynamics and inequalities contribute to stratification. The choice between the two approaches depends on the specific context being studied and the level of analysis being considered.
Functionalists view stratification as necessary for maintaining social order and stability, with each social position serving a specific function in society. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, see stratification as resulting from competition and inequality among different social groups, with the dominant group using their power to maintain control and suppress the lower classes.
The main theoretical perspectives of social stratification are structural-functionalism, which sees stratification as necessary for society to function efficiently; conflict theory, which views stratification as a result of competition for scarce resources; and symbolic interactionism, which emphasizes how individual interactions contribute to the maintenance of stratification. Other perspectives include feminist theory, which examines how gender intersects with stratification, and intersectionality, which considers how multiple social identities interact to shape an individual's position in society.
German sociologist Georg Simmel pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people who are in close relationships due to the intensity of interactions and the overlapping of interests and identities.
A sociologist using the social-conflict approach would likely make a statement emphasizing the presence and impact of power dynamics, inequality, and social struggles in shaping society. They might highlight issues such as class conflict, exploitation, and the role of social structures in perpetuating disparities among different groups.
Some approaches in the study of social stratification include structural functionalism, which focuses on how social institutions contribute to social inequality; conflict theory, which views social stratification as a result of competition for resources; and symbolic interactionism, which emphasizes how individuals' interactions and roles contribute to social hierarchy. These approaches offer different perspectives on how social hierarchies are created and maintained.
Problem recognition is the ability to recognize there is a conflict in your goals. In order to work through the problem you have to ensure you are identifying the right problem first.