What is the Social- conflict approach (Marx)?

Karl Marx believed that the economy dictated the nature of society. He predicted that society would be decreased down to two social classes, as social inequality became prevalent. Social conflict theory is a Marxist based social theory which argues that individuals and groups (classes) within society interact on the basis of disputation rather than consensus.

Through various forms of conflict, groups will attain differing amounts of material and non- material resources. Powerful groups will tend to use their competence in order to retain power and exploit groups with less power.

According to this approach, there are differences in people’s social organization that will affect the way that they interact with people. There may be some situations and things that are normal for certain social classes but cannot be considered normal by others especially those who are living in other countries with different traditions and cultures.

This explains why there are some conflicts that may arise when people are not open-minded and when people do not make the effort to understand the culture of others. As the world becomes more modern, the more that society changes but there are still some groups that resist change.