Name: 衝突理論｜社會與文化｜MCAT｜可汗學院 (Conflict theory | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T07:56:55.000Z
Duration: 4 min 38 s
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Conflict theory is a
way of studying society

that focuses on the
inequalities of different groups

from the 19th century, who
believed a society evolved

through several stages,
the most important of which

were feudalism, capitalism,
and finally socialism.

19th century Europe was
a capitalist society

where the rich upper class
called the bourgeoisie were

And the poor lower class,
called the proletariat,

Now you might think
that the majority would

But it was actually the
bourgeoisie that had the power.

And they sold what they
produced to earn a living.

The proletariat only had their
labor to sell to make a living,

and they were dependent on the
factory owners to get paid.

But this wasn't just a
one-sided dependence.

The factory owners were also
dependent on the workers

to work in the factories,
though they would never admit it

because they would lose
some of their power.

There was a significant
economic inequality

between the factory
owners and the workers.

It was this economic
inequality that Marx

As the working class realized
they were being exploited,

they would unite to create
a class consciousness.

This class consciousness is
kind of like getting everyone

on the same wavelength so they
can be stronger and overthrow

another group economically
would actually

contain the seeds of
its own destruction.

The existing generally accepted
state, or thesis, of a society

would cause the formation
of a reaction or antithesis

In a capitalist society,
the accepted thesis

was that the bourgeoisie
ran the factories

while the working class
provided the labor.

The desire of the working class
to change the way things were

The thesis and antithesis can't
exist together peacefully.

One side is quite happy
with the status quo

and wants to leave
things the way they are.

The other side is looking for
change because they really

aren't so happy with the
current state of things.

would eventually lead to a
compromise or a synthesis

of the two, resolving
the tension between them

Perhaps the synthesis
here is that members

of the working class begin to
take on managerial positions.

has even more power than the
factory owners themselves.

would eventually become a
new thesis in its own right

and begin the process of
creating its opposite once

Perhaps the new middle
class has become so powerful

that the factory owners
begin to feel threatened.

The middle class is quite happy
with their newfound status,

but the bourgeoisie
doesn't want to share.

The strong influence of the
middle class over everyone else

And the bourgeoisie
wants that to change,

But maybe the bourgeoisie
doesn't feel threatened,

of their former friends
and their new power.

Now, the workers want
the status quo to change.

The antithesis can arrive
from any source of unrest

and an antithesis would
spring from that new source

The idea of two opposing
sides has come up many times

WEB Du Bois was very
influential in the struggle

created tension and
eventually changed society.

Each of these conflicts
between the status

quo and its opposition
resolved into a new thesis,

which just waited for the
next source of tension

of modeling the often
drastic changes that

But it doesn't take into
account the stability

And it doesn't explain how
a society is held together.

And it really doesn't
like the status quo.

There is much to be said for
the application of conflict

theory and much that
it leaves unanswered.