Conflict Perspective
A perspective in the social sciences that emphasizes the social, political or material inequality of a social group; critiques the broad socio-political system; or otherwise detracts from structural functionalism and ideological conservativism.
Under the conflict perspective, the basic form of interaction in society is not cooperation, but competition, and this leads to conflict. Because the individuals and groups of society compete for advantage, there is constantly conflict for change. When there are large groups competing, such as Marx's bourgeois and proletariat, the outcome is often major social change. This conflict can arise from the desire to own the means of production, to own the power or land, or to own the realm of political power, and can be revolutionary, as it was in many of the communist societies that practiced Marxist teachings.The outcomes of the conflict perspective have had a major impact on social events in the world for two centuries. The Russian Revolution of 1917 can be seen as an outcome of the conflict perspective. This event illustrates the major revolutionary power of the rise of one social group against another. In any society, conflict theorists argue that there is the potential for revolutionary conflict as the few in power maintain control over the many out of it.