ORDER AND CONFLICT MODELS

“The liberal is inclined to believe that it is the occasion that makes the thief, while the conservative is likely to hold that the thief is likely to make the occasion. The individual and society can, therefore, according to the liberal, be purposively improved through education and social reform. The conservative, on the other hand, thinks that it is “human nature” and not its environment which, on the whole, makes individuals and society what they are. He sees therein a reason and a justification for skepticism in regard to reforms.” (Gunnar Myrdal, 1944)

The Order Model (Functionalism):

• Societies have the characteristics of cohesion, consensus, cooperation, reciprocity, and stability.
• The parts of the system are in harmony, achieved through a high degree of cooperation (societal integration), consensus of social goals and cultural values.

The Conflict Model:

• Individuals and groups of society compete for advantage; the degree of social integration is minimal.
• Social change results from conflict among competing groups and it can be drastic and revolutionary.
• Unity in society is achieved through coercion.

Apply the example of "deviance" to both models:

· ORDER: Deviants do not conform to the standards of the dominant groups; they are assumed to be out of phase with conventional behavior.

· CONFLICT: Deviants are a manifestation of a failure of society to meet the needs of individuals.

A Synthesis of Both Models:

• Stability and change are properties of all societies. Change can be gradual (order) and abrupt with internal violence or from outside society (conflict).
• Societies are organized, but the process of organization generates conflict.
• Societies are held together by complementary interests, by consensus, cultural values and coercion.

Segmenting Forces in the U.S.:

· Social class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, regionalism

· "There can be positive consequences of conflict for both parties to the conflict and for society as well." (Textbook, p. 67).

· "Conflict is an opportunity to transform human consciousness and encourage and help individuals enact their highest potential as human beings." (Bush and Folger, 1991)

Integrative Forces in Society:

• Functional integration: interdependence because no group is entirely self-sufficient
• Shared fundamental values
• Answerable to the same body of law
• Heterogeneous organizations allows for interaction with people unlike themselves and join together in a common cause
• External threats to society's existence
• Planned integration: uniting segmented parts of a system

Violence:

· "United States history shows that, with few exceptions, powerless and downtrodden groups seeking power have not achieved it without struggle. The problem is that the United States, like all other societies, has not allowed and does not allow for the non-violent transfer of power" (Textbook, p. 68).

· "I ask you to share with me the majesty of this moment. In the orderly transference of power we celebrate the unity that keeps us free" (Richard Nixon's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1969)

· "This peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country." (George Bush's Inaugural Address, January 20, 2001)

· "Violence was necessary to give birth to the United States. Violence was used both to keep African Americans in servitude and to free them. Violence was used to defeat rebellious Native Americans and to keep them on reservations. Additionally, violence has been a necessary means for many groups in the United States to achieve equality or something approaching parity in power and in the rights that all citizens and residents are supposed to enjoy" (p. 71).

Non-Violence:

• "The use of civil disobedience will be healthy, necessary, and effective only if we otherwise conform to the laws of all growth. We must therefore give its full and therefore greater value to the adjective 'civil' than to 'disobedience'. Disobedience without civility, discipline, discrimination, non-violence is certain destruction." (M.K. Gandhi, 1951)
• "The 'turn the other cheek' philosophy and the 'love your enemies' philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary. But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was." (Martin Luther King)
• "The development of American democracy depended on the perennial emergence of popular revolt in the past, and it does once again." (Last sentence of textbook, p. 517) (Piven, 1996)