Conflict theory

 The conflict speaks about power and who should be in control. My views of the conflict theory bring me back to the days of slavery. As the stated, those who are most powerful in society try to socialize the least powerful into accepting that inequality in any way they can. In those days because slave did not have any form of wealth and could not care for themselves that much they have to accept the inequality that was handed down to them and do the do as I say and they did not have a choice. The same inequality is seen in our society today, it is stated that the most important and influential position in society are occupy by the rich and powerful and they use their positions to advance their own interest. For example the Politician’s will use the people to do what they need to be done in order to win the election, by making promises and when they win  they forget all about the promises which bring conflict among people.

What the theories is saying is that there is also conflict in the family. The conflict theories believe that no human society or group exists which does not poses conflict of interest.  I agree that there is conflict in society and the family. I understand that in a family the members differs in their interest, motivations and preferences and therefore there will always be a conflict in the family. In a popular family show name the Brady Bunch on the INSP TV station the children would always argue about the phone whose turn to use it and how long to stay on it. In order to solve the problem Mr. Brady have to get himself another phone. Yes conflicts do happen in the family and there can be positive outcomes once you talk about it. As is stated there are two types of conflict the internal and the external conflict. Viewing this same family I realize that when there is an external problem they put aside the internal one to deal with the external. This theory helps me to understand how to deal with conflict when they arise.    

Conflict Theory

It is the nature of human to be self oriented and just focus on themselves. I believe that if you do not love you first, who is going to love you for you? I am selfish and am very proud of it as, if I do not take care of me, who is going to take care of me?Therefore this theory suits me well.  In society we are always fighting for scarce resources thus there is always conflicts in the society. For example one day I was on a bus there was one seat and a pregnant woman was coming in the bus and a man came in before her and took the seat. Everyone started cursing out the man as he was supposed to give the pregnant woman the seat. This was showing a competition for scarce resource, as the seat was the resource there and it is a prime example of conflict in the society.

In families relationships are more intense as the breaking up of family is more threatening.  Family members usually tolerate a higher degree of conflict as they do not want to hurt each other. Most times the conflict can be either internal or external conflict. My mother always tell me if you do not resolve conflict it will always be there or it will pops up at the least opportune time. She also said there can be benefits from conflicts. For example at my family reunion there was a big conflict as persons had differences from years before and did not talk about them. Someone said something and then everyone started cursing out each other. My grandmother had to intervene and let each person express him or herself and resolve the issue. This was an internal conflict as it took place in the family.

I believe there will always be conflict whether we are like it or not. There is no prefect society and so conflict has to be there for society to function properly. This theory came about from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who believes that conflict has to manifest itself for persons to see inequalities in the society or families.

The Conflict Theory

When I think of the word conflict these are the things that comes to mind; tension, aggression, physical fights, malice and hostility. Using the term conflict theory gives the impression that the family operates like a war zone. I do not like this theory because even though humans are focused on self interest we are also willing to compromise in order for everyone to benefit from the scarce resources available in the family. The reality is that in families there are limited resources and everyone’s goal cannot be met at the same time. It is the family’s responsibility to discuss all their goals and to make decisions about how to use the available resources they have to accomplish these goals.

 However, after learning about this theory I now understand that conflict is a way of initiating change in any situation. In my family conflicts are usually centered on the division of labour and finances.  Like I mentioned in a previous blog, my partner is lazy when it comes on to performing household chores, it is through conflict (quarrel) that changes has been made. I have seen improvement were equity is concerned in the allocation of duties.

Similarly when I was growing up in my household duties were distributed based on age and the ability to perform a specific duty. Even though my family strived to ensure fairness my older sister usually complain because she failed to understand that even though the duties were not distributed equally, it was considered fair because everyone has their role to play. For example I may be given the dishes to wash while she is responsible for tidying the house. I think this was done because she is four years older than I am. As children my sister and I used to fight a lot because she was of the opinion that I was favoured by our aunt. This theory helps me to understand that she was just competing for the scarce resource of attention and love. I cannot recall having any conflict relating to any other scarce resources.

Conflict Theory. What are your thoughts?