Social conflict theories claim that society is in a state of perpetual conflict due to competition for limited resources (Johnson 164). According to conflict theory, the wealthy use force and power to maintain class status. The rich exploit the poor in a destructive pursuit of creating and maintaining wealth. Once in power, they create institutions, governments and systems that maintain and strengthen their power, and perpetuate the exploitation of the poor (Knapp 280). Social conflict theory focuses on the socioeconomic inequality in society, and usually offer criticism of established power structures, such as governments, economic systems or entities like the “military industrial complex” (Knapp 281-282). They are usually opposed to the theoretical framework and conclusions of functionalism or ideologically conservative models of analysis. Conflict theories look at “big picture” macro level issues like class, race, gender, economic status and geopolitics. Social conflict theories analyze class conflict and highlight the differences in power amongst groups, drawing attention to power differentials and class conflict. For example, Social conflict theory would offer useful insight into why children from higher income families have higher SAT scores or go to “better” schools and universities. Karl Marx and Marxist theory laid the foundation for later work, including social stratification and other modern variants.
C. Wright Mills is the father of modern conflict theory. Mill wrote The Sociological Imagination (1959) which was a major contribution to social conflict theory (Knapp 231). Mills believed that the resources and interests of normal people and the “power elites” were not the same. Social structures – like schools, governments, or legal systems - are created by conflict between theses two groups – and these societal constructs create "unequal distribution of power and resources in the society” (Knapp 228-229). Like Marx, Mills believed the system was corrupt and the working class and poor were exploited by the powerful elite in capitalist societies. Many conflict theories are based on Marxism, and share a similar ideology, but are not a completely unified school of thought.
In late 2013, there were numerous street protests in downtown San Francisco focusing on corporate buses used by Google to transport employees from their homes in San Francisco to Silicon Valley. The buses were described as “oversized and ominous looking limousines from the future, with tinted windows, free food and soft drinks, and WiFi” (Goldman 19). The shuttles are free benefits provided for corporate employees and use the same bus stops as public transportation system (Gumbal). Complaining that the buses cause traffic problems, protestors blocked the buses, threw rocks and chanted anti-Google messages at the shuttles. The Google buses have become powerful symbols for income inequality and social class stratification (Barnes). While the technology industry has created many positive tools that have made life better, this type of extreme social, income inequality, and resulting gentrification is clearly negative, ruining San Francisco by causing rents to skyrocket and forcing middle-class residents to leave the city. This process of gentrification reveals the disparity in wealth between the new tech workers and the longtime residents of the city. Nurses, police officers, school teachers and other middle-class workers have been priced out of the city. This process increases the homogeneity of a city and takes away one of the primary things that make cities great – diversity.
In 2013, the average annual wage for high-tech workers in Silicon Valley was $195,815, according to a recent report from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a commercial real estate firm (Cole). In comparison, tin San Francisco, where the median teacher salary in 2012 was $59,700. Redfin, a national real estate assessment firm, calculated that an home affordable for someone making that much each year would cost $220,000, which would be hard to do in a city where the average house is slightly less than a million dollars (Elson). According to Mill’s theory, a housing market where the “average” home is only affordable to the wealthy, is unequal distribution of resources, both in terms of money and housing. This would also be an example of a societal structure (a real estate market) that was created as part of class system that encourages social stratification. The rich live in San Francisco, the poor live much further away in less desirable areas.
The housing gentrification and Google Bus Protests that are happening in San Francisco align closely with many basic tenants of social conflict theory. The power elite – Google, the City and the affluent tech workers – have entranced interests and the power to get whatever they want. Google attracts young workers who want to live in the city. The city gets tax revenue and a reputation as a “tech city” which attracts more companies and tech workers. The tech workers get to work where they want (Silicon Valley) and also live where they want (S.F), without even having to drive or sweat over a busy commute. The workers, poor, proletariat, normal people get much higher real estate prices or have to more to less desirable areas. They sit in traffic jams, with more congestion and pay taxes which are used to create the streets and bus stops which serve the Google buses and their beneficiaries. This conflict is complicated – without tax revenues there are no city services, so the city must court and attract industry. However, there seems to be little lobbying done on the part of the “normal” middle class of San Francisco. This disparity of income, housing, transportation and employment are all aspects of Conflict theory.
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