science

Social conflict theory

Social conflict theory is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Social conflict theory rather than just read about it. In short: Sociological Conflict Theories The results of a conflict that is seen in society as much more focused on the behavior of two or more individuals/groups of people in a more than likely competitive state of ones surroundings. As most have uncovered that the action itself is not what is the main priority, but the competitive awareness that the situation that has risen around.

Key takeaways

Social conflict theory belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Social conflict theory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Social conflict theory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sociological Conflict Theories The results of a conflict that is seen in society as much more focused on the behavior of two or more individuals/groups of people in a more than likely competitive state of ones surroundings. As most have uncovered that the action itself is not what is the main priority, but the competitive awareness that the situation that has risen around. Another way to say "social conflict" would simply be to say group conflict as they are a synonym for each other. Social conflict also interacts with the pursuit of a possible infliction of damage, harm, and/or injury to a party, which can be seen as a mass groups of individuals that part-take in groups, communities, organizations, etc.

"The structural sources of social conflict, in particular structures of domination that makes struggles over values and scarce resources likely. At this stage, a theory of social conflict will rely heavily on stratification, social change, and macro sociological theories. These theories will identify the most important explanatory variables in conflict theories." Social conflict theory is a Marxist-based social theory which argues that individuals and groups (social classes) within society interact on the basis of conflict rather than consensus. Through various forms of conflict, groups will tend to attain differing amounts of material and non-material resources (e.g. the wealthy vs. the poor). More powerful groups will tend to use their power in order to retain power and exploit groups with less power. Conflict theorists view conflict as an engine of change, since conflict produces contradictions which are sometimes resolved, creating new conflicts and contradictions in an ongoing dialectic. In the classic example of historical materialism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels argued that all of human history is the result of conflict between classes, which evolved over time in accordance with changes in society's means of meeting its material needs, i.e. changes in society's mode of production.

Example (sample of the following) Consider the relationship between the owner of a housing complex and a tenant in that same housing complex. A consensus theorist might suggest that the relationship between the owner and the tenant is founded on mutual benefit. In contrast, a conflict theorist might argue the relationship is based on a conflict in which the owner and tenant are struggling against each other. Their relationship is defined by the balance in their abilities to extract resources from each other, e.g. rent payments or a place to live. The bounds of the relationship are set where each is extracting the maximum possible amount of resources out of the other. Conflict can take many forms and involve struggle over many different types of resources, including status. However, formal conflict theory had its foundations in the analysis of class conflict, and the example of the owner and the tenant can be understood in terms of class conflict. In class conflict, owners are likely to have relative advantages over non-owners. For example, the legal system underlying the relationship between the owner and tenant can be biased in favor of the owner. Suppose the owner wishes to keep the tenant's security deposit after that tenant has moved out of the owner's residence. In legal systems based on English common law, the owner is only required to notify the tenant that the security deposit is being withheld. To regain the security deposit, the tenant must file a lawsuit. The tenant bears the burden of proof and is therefore required to prove that the residence was adequately cleaned before move-out. This can be a very difficult or even impossible task. To summarize the example, conflict theorists view the relationship between the owner and tenant as being built primarily on conflict rather than harmony. Even though the owner-tenant relationship may often appear harmonious, any visible harmony is only a product of the law and other elements of the superstructure which constrain the relationship and which are themselves a product of an even deeper conflict, class conflict. A conflict theorist would say that conflict theory holds more explanatory power than consensus theory in this situation since consensus theory cannot explain lawsuits between owners and tenants nor the legal foundations of the asymmetrical power relationship between the two.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Social conflict theory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Social conflict theory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Social conflict theory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Social conflict theory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Social conflict theory

In research: Social conflict theory appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Social conflict theory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Social conflict theory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Change, Identity politics, Marxist theory, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Social conflict theory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Social conflict theory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Social conflict theory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Social conflict theory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Social conflict theory in simple terms?

Why does Social conflict theory matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Social conflict theory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Social conflict theory.