Final answer:
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the founders of conflict theory, which focuses on the class struggles between those who own the means of production and those who do not. The correct option is D.
Step-by-step explanation:
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels founded the perspective that is known as conflict theory. Conflict theory posits that the history of society is one of ongoing class struggles, where the bourgeoisie, who own the means of production, are in conflict with the proletariat, who sell their labor.
This theory is rooted in the belief that social conflicts arise primarily from the economic inequalities inherent within a capitalist system. While Émile Durkheim's perspectives can be characterized by functionalism, Karl Marx is most famously associated with the idea that societies change and evolve due to class struggles, viewing this conflict as the engine of historical change and development in society.