Owned and Operated essays

Owned and Operated essays The conflict position is that social inequality emerges through domination or constraint of one or more groups by other groups. Karl Marx believed the opposite of the functionalist perspective; instead of ideas influencing the economy the economy influences ideas. Max Weber expanded on Marxs view by saying that the economy influences ideas and vice versa. According to Marx, history is a series of conflicts by two opposing groups; the ruling class and the oppressed (respectively, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat). The bourgeoisie own the means of production, while the proletariat work in factories, producing. The proletariat, while being exploited by the bourgeoisie, have false consciousness. In order to overthrow the bourgeoisie, the proletariat must first gain class consciousness (the realization that they are oppressed by the bourgeoisie), then move toward revolution, overthrowing the bourgeiosie. After winning the revolution, there will be a dictatorship of the proletar iat where everyone works, doing what they can, and each receives what they need. Because of this unequal distribution of rewards in society, order is kept by the bourgeoisie (superordinate class) enforcing the rules on the proletariat (subordinate class) and creating rules that benefit the superordinate class. The bourgeoisie is in control of capital, which is stored-up, accumulated labor. The owner keeps this for himself, taking more profit from the workers and supplying fewer workers. Marx followed the critical-conflict paradigm, being distrustful of restraining social institutions. At the base of human societies, he saw class conflict, domination and an emphasis on dynamics and change, revolution being the catalyst for this change. As the main structure of conflict theory, the superstructure is shaped/determined by the substructure, thus, revolution must originate from the substructure. The superstructure has so much power because they r...