According to conflict theorists, “Society is an arena for inequality that generates conflict and change.” This statement suggests that cultural systems do not address human needs equally, thus allowing some people to dominate others. It emphasizes struggle over limited resources, power, and prestige as permanent aspects of societies and a major source of social change. Karl Marx (1818-83), a renowned theorist, studied social conflict for a great portion of his life with an attempt not only to understand society, but also to reduce the social inequality in it. A conflict analysis of our own Jamaican society reveals characteristics of social inequity in many different forms, with the prominent areas being Education, Class, Gender, and Race.
Education is defined as, ‘the acquisition of knowledge and the learning of skills.’ It is, as we know, one of the most effective avenues for ensuring employment and an increase in income, which adds up to
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