Conflict Perspective Analysis

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Sociologists have many different lenses they can view society's problems from. Early sociologists view problems from the macro level. The two broader views are functionalism and the conflict perspective. Functionalist sociologists believe that society has institutions, rules guide society, and society functions with organization. The conflict perspective looks at social events and how class structure and levels of wealth impact the event and this theory believes social change is possible through revolution. A later theory was developed to look at events at a micro level and that theory is symbolic interactionism. According to symbolic interactionism, and the basis of this theory is that society places value on certain symbols and objects. …show more content…

Social change happens with revolutions and five million people protested the election of Trump the day after his inauguration. While this is truly unprecedented, will it cause a true revolution? The conflict perspective would also analyze the divide that exists in America between Republicans and Democrats. Part of the conflict theory is that social structure exists and power elites have a larger voice in society. Nothing could prove this more than the election of Donald Trump. The billionaire and real estate mogul had no political or military experience, but was elected on the promise of “making America great again.” However, his status in society and use of social media, has created a large rift in the nation. His popularity is low, but he was able to win election by igniting groups of people who felt that the Obama administration was out of touch with their values. What has been created is a new group of people, mainly Democrats, who feel that the current President is not supporting their values. A conflict theorist would be interested in if this truly can be a revolution and if these women's marches can actually lead to significant change. A conflict theorist would also examine the polar viewpoints of the nation’s electorate. How could some people feel so connected to vote Trump, while others would travel thousands of miles to protest the same person? Research on this issue would center around the possibility of revolution and the backlash this revolution could see from the Trump administration. Much of this issue is unsettled and the nation is deeply divided under the new Trump

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