Conflict Theories Of Karl Marx And C. Wright Mills

Many sociologists believe conflict is a necessary part of society. Conflict theory is described as groups and certain individuals trying to advance their own ideas or interests over other groups or individuals (Collins: 47). This also leads to a struggle for power between these groups over limited resources. Life is viewed as a competition focusing on this power and the inequality it creates within society. This conflict between people of low social status and the elite leads to a struggle between resources. With conflict theory, upper class powerful elites exploit the lower classes to stay in power. Because of the inequality this creates within society, we can examine how this affects crime. What behaviors are considered deviant and why are some crimes more deviant than others? When we analyze the structure of a society, we can see how much power the ruling class has over the poor. We can see how the poor are manipulated and why some criminals are punished more harshly than others even though the crime is the same. Understanding the theories of Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills will give us a greater understanding of why society is structured the way it is and why there are
Engels is significant for the conflict theory because he contributed most of the ideology behind “Marxism”. They focused on social classes and how they make up a society. Engels was interested in empowering workers and he was a member of the bourgeoisie. He was a business owner by day and used his wealth to help workers by observing their conditions. In Collins, they tell us the different major social classes for “ancient societies of the Mediterranean world” (Collins: 63). The patricians, which are the slave owners, the slaves and the plebeians, who were neither slaves or slave owners. For a “feudal” society, the social classes were the landowners and the laborers of that land. Major conflict was between slave owners and the