Question

How would a sociologist who specializes in the Conflict perspective examine the role of racism, sexism, and wealth/poverty in our society? Give an example for each.

Answer 1

The sociologist who specializes in the Conflict perspective would examine racism as a kind of conflict between various races who consider themselves as superior over the others. That is the reason for the major conflicts related to race. People also tend to value other races less which causes the feeling of seclusion. For instance in India, we have many races dominating the society. When a sociologist has to study the Indian culture, he would have to know the interlinking of various races like Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, understand their conflicts and dependencies and then try to evaluate the social structure like it is today. Sexism is also one such widespread issue in our country. The roles are divided based on sexes. Women tend to do the household chores while men go out to work. This has a lot of impact on the culture of the society and the empowerment of the weaker group. This leads to inequality in India. The sociologist has to evaluate all these options quite well. Wealth and poverty also define any country's economy and social strata. For places like Africa where the poverty rates are more, the economy of the country is also low. Countries like the USA which have a comparatively better split, have a strong economy. This split plays a crucial role in shaping the growth and development of the country and deciding its future growth. We need to take care of all these things to evaluate the country's strength and weakness. That is what the conflict sociologist will take care in this case and evaluate the internal segregation of the country and its economy.