Final answer:
Conflict theorists see migrant workers, seasonal employees, and workers facing layoffs as exploited groups within a capitalist system, enduring economic precarity due to social stratification and inequality. They argue that these conditions are maintained to benefit business owners at the expense of the workforce, potentially leading to class consciousness and demands for systemic change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Conflict theorists would classify migrant workers, seasonal employees, and members of the workforce who are subject to layoffs as groups affected by social stratification and inequality. They argue that these groups are often exploited in a capitalist system, which maintains class distinctions and keeps these workers in a precarious economic position. Migrant workers and seasonal employees are seen as part of a marginalized group that receives lower wages and experiences poor working conditions, while those subject to layoffs are considered victims of a system designed to prioritize profits over people's livelihoods.
For example, during economic downturns, landscapers might be laid off due to a drop in new housing construction, a form of cyclical unemployment, while factory workers might be laid off as their jobs are outsourced to countries with lower labor costs, a form of structural unemployment. Moreover, conflict theorists highlight how social stratification and the exploitation of workers in peripheral nations by core nations' companies seeking to maximize profits deepen this inequality on a global scale.
These workers' collective experiences of economic instability and the resultant class consciousness might ultimately lead to a demand for systemic change, according to conflict theorists who draw upon Marxist principles. This perspective aims to bring awareness to the realities of economic exploitation and the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor, even within affluent societies.