Conflict Theory

Submitted By: Mir Hamid Farooq

Submitted To: Respected, Sir Attaullah
 What Is Conflict Theory?
Conflict theory, first developed by Karl Marx, is a theory that society is in a state of
perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources.
Conflict theory holds that social order is maintained by domination and power,
rather than by consensus and conformity. According to conflict theory, those
with wealth and power try to hold on to it by any means possible, chiefly by
suppressing the poor and powerless. A basic premise of conflict theory is that
individuals and groups within society will work to try to maximize their own
wealth and power.

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 Cont..
Conflict theory has sought to explain a wide range of social phenomena, including
wars, revolutions, poverty, discrimination, and domestic violence. Central tenets
of conflict theory are the concepts of social inequality, the division of resources,
and the conflicts that exist among different socioeconomic classes. Marx’s version
of conflict theory focused on the conflict between two primary classes. Each class
consists of a group of people bound by mutual interests and a certain degree of
property ownership.

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 Cont..
Marx emphasizes the antagonistic relationship between social classes, in
particular the relationship between the owners of capital, who Marx calls the
“bourgeoisie”, and the working class, which he calls the “proletariat.” Conflict
theory had a profound influence on 19th- and 20th-century thought and continues
to influence political debates to this day.

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 References:
1. University of Hawai'i. "Understanding Conflict and War: Vol. 3: Conflict in
Perspective.
2. History. "Karl Marx Publishes Communist Manifesto.
3. Alan Sears and James Cairns. “A Good Book, In Theory, Page 41. University of
Toronto Press, 2015.

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Thank you