Final answer:
The conflict perspective sees society as a battleground where different social classes compete for limited resources, leading to inequalities. Predominantly informed by Marx's ideas, this perspective examines how institutions maintain unequal structures and suggests that conflict can catalyze social change.
Step-by-step explanation:
The conflict perspective views society as characterized by inequalities that advantage some groups and disadvantage others, leading to conflict and the potential for social change. This perspective is a macro-level approach associated with Karl Marx, who saw society rife with competition between different social classes for scarce resources such as food, housing, and employment. Conflict theory posits that social institutions like government, education, and religion reflect this competition and contribute to maintaining an unequal social structure.
For example, a conflict theorist might analyze how the Tea Party Movement or the MeToo campaign highlight struggles against entrenched business interests or challenge organizations to confront and change the structures that allow inequalities, such as sexual harassment, to persist.
In addition, conflict theory examines how the economy reflects and reproduces economic inequality, and how control of the media or technology like the digital divide can further these disparities. The perspective suggests that social struggles can lead to significant change, much like the revolutionary expressions of the Occupy Wall Street movement.