smooth

I recently finished my Bachelor of Science in Sociology. Now I'm working toward a Ph.D. in Criminology, Law and Society. Sociologists break these macro-theories into branches of thought. This one is placed in the conflict theory branch because we believe that humans form groups and work according to their party's interests. That's where I learned Marx, Weber, and Durkheim (the three founding fathers of sociology, which forms our canon of classical theory base).

There is another main branch of theory called the functionalist perspective (Durkheim), which argues that people work with and depend upon one another. Concepts like inequality actually keep lazy people active, for example--poverty comes from poor talent and lack of initiative.

The conflict theory resonates with my belief system. That main branch, however, is split into critical conflicts (seek to eradicate inequality--Marx) and uncritical conflicts (think it's inevitable--Weber). I'm not yet certain which one I believe in most.