Final answer:
From the perspective of the social-conflict approach, society's labeling of deviant behavior is primarily based on the differences in power among social groups. The approach argues that the powerful use norms and laws to maintain their power by labeling less powerful individuals as deviant.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the social-conflict approach, what society labels as deviant is based primarily on differences in power between various categories of people. The social-conflict approach suggests that those in positions of power determine what is considered deviant, often to maintain and reinforce their own power and privilege. Deviance is considered a violation of norms which are established and enforced by those in authority.
Conflict theory, a significant component of the social-conflict approach, was greatly influenced by Karl Marx and later by C. Wright Mills in the concept of the Power Elite. It explains that the laws and norms that define deviance and crime are designed by the powerful to control and suppress the less powerful. This approach challenges other theories that ignore the complexities of power, wealth, race, and gender in establishing deviance and enforcing laws.