Luther's argument falls under the Conflict Theory. The conflict theory states that society's tensions and conflicts are results of competition for limited resources. Luther wrote his essay based on the ideas of Karl Marx, a German sociologist and philosopher, who defined society as a group of individuals from different social classes competing for political, material and social resources (such as employment and education). Marx saw social institutions (government, religion, schools...) as maintainers of this unequal system that reproduced inequalities and competitions.