Conflict Theory And Conflict Essay

Gang violence and activity has arisen in the past decades, with exceeding concerns and amongst youth being the primary target. Law enforcement try to gain a better understanding to why people are falling into criminal activity. Throughout the following essay we will be summarizing the background of one of the most notorious gang known internationally, MS-13. In addition, we will also be explaining ways different criminology theorist and theories apply to these particular group of people.

As a REACH member, I had the privilege of witnessing a support group for substance abusers and alcoholics. One man, in particular, spoke of his addiction to cocaine. I listened to his speech that described his introduction to the substance, the hardships he faced, and his slow but successful recovery. I, though, had one question in mind: to what measures will users and even sellers go for drugs? Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader For a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets answers my question.

This situation creates a cyclical behavior where the people who we normally consider to be the bread-winners are not capable of providing help to their families, which in turn pushes on this role to the younger generation, increasing the proliferation of the drug trade among the young people in

The author of the article continued to explain the r “As a society, and as clinicians, we have to go far beyond simply viewing the drugs as the problem. In order to give everyone suffering from addiction the best chance possible to enter and stay in recovery, we urgently need to start paying attention to the broader issues that allow addiction to fester, such as housing, employment, poverty, systemic racism, and the effects of incarceration,” (Grinspoon). The author of the article, believes that the problem of addiction in low income neighborhoods is a direct effect of the lower quality systems that are set up for the people living in those neighborhoods. After Sonny’s addiction was caused by the lack of resources in his lower income community, he was unable to get the adequate resources to overcome his cycle of

Human beings are all individually incredibly unique. This uniqueness is apparent in every experience of a person’s life, but it is the cycle of these unique experiences that connects all human beings. This cycle is defined as the human condition. Furthermore, this cycle is a series of inevitable life aspects that makes up a human being; two of the most obvious being growth and conflict. Within the human condition, growth cannot exist without conflict and conflict cannot exist without growth.

How can people best respond to conflict? Some people have very little conflict in life. For example what to wear to school or what to do on the weekend. Others have it a whole lot rougher, having to live in constant fear everyday or hiding for your life. I think that people best respond to conflict by staying positive and never giving up hope.

Therefore conflict theory defines substance abuse as primarily being a problem that is a result of structural inequality and class conflict. Corporations such as the LCBO and various pharmacies financially benefit the most from drug use and also obtain the power to keep it available. In response to political, social, and power inequality, political and business groups are able to influence society’s depiction of drugs and their users. Many substances were considered legal but public opinion and the law altered when drugs were associated with ethnic minorities and crime. Conflict theorists argue that marginalized groups, the lower class, and other alienated groups are more likely to suffer negative ramifications as a result of addiction.

For example, agencies have been established with the sole intent to manage drug use and distribution and technology has been exclusively developed to detect the presence of drugs. Yet, evidence has indicated that such exhaustive efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. First, it has been assumed that drugs have perpetuated violence in society and based on this rationale, it was believed that by the suppressing the pervasiveness of drugs that incidents of violence would simultaneously diminish. However, reality has failed to align with the expectations that had initially been anticipated. Research findings have suggested that the decriminalization of drugs would result in a less adversarial drug market in which conflicts have tended to arise among dealers as well as between dealers and buyers (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2007, p. 21).

Conflict Theory American society today is made up of all three of the theories. In my opinion, these theories all thrive off each other as a whole. I feel that the chain is something like this, Symbolic Interactionism, as well as Functionalism, lead into Conflict Theory. However, I feel that Conflict Theory is by far the largest component American society is made from, here is why! First I would like to touch on Symbolic Interactionism, symbols we attach value or meaning.

In his article, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,” Elliot Currie discusses “the magnitude and severity of our drug crisis” (para. 21), and how “no other country has anything resembling the American drug problem” (para. 21). The best way to describe America’s drug problem is that it is a hole continuously digs itself deeper. America’s drug issues were likely comparable to other country’s at one point in time, but today it can be blamed on the “street cultures” (para. 21) that continue to use and spread the use of illegal drugs. These street cultures transcend the common stereotype of drug users, such as low income communities in cities or welfare recipients, and can be found in every economic class and location. They are groups of people who have

Those with the highest social standards financially, culturally or just socially in general are perceived as the most powerful and influential. Most crime shown in the media consists of minority groups which sometimes illegal substances are a factor. An example of a social-conflict theory influence on substance abuse is in the work force that includes the bourgeoisie versus the lower class proletariats. In the 19th century, there was a cultural hegemony in the work force between the white bourgeoisie and the minority proletariats. Lots of alcohol and tobacco were consumed by these white capitalists and today is socially acceptable.

The continuous use of narcotics results in addiction, and financial struggles due to the costly upkeep. “Financial problems are one of the major side effects of drug and substance abuse” (Buaggett, 2015). Addicts cannot adequately take an active role in the economic activities, as the use of drugs inhibits the abilities of the users to earn a daily living. Due to the instability of finances, this would result in selling personal belongings to continue funding the substance of choice, and depending on the addicts living situation, this could lead to losing their house or being removed from their current housing. While being under the influence, an addicts voice of reason is jeopardized, resulting in criminal activities which raise the chances of being apprehended by the law enforcers, as well as, heavy fines are imposed.

Elizabeth McDaniel EGMT 501 Manager’s Tool Kit Challenge What will you do Reference Develop power and exerting influence without formal authority Utilize the four types of power (obligation, belief in experience, identify with manager, perceived dependence) and methods of influence (manipulation of environment, making permanent changes to the environment) -“Power, Dependence and Effective Management” by Kotter - “Who Gets Power – And How They Hold on to It: A Strategic‐Contingency Model” by Salancik & Pfeffer - “Patterns of Political Behavior on Organizations” by Farrel and Peterson -“The Basis of Social Power” by French and Raven -“How to Choose a Leadership Pattern” by Tannenbaum &Schmidt Conflict management Analyze the situation

Most fields of science rely on theories to explain centrally important issues, such as social phenomena, that have a wide range of applications. Sociologists attempt to describe human society though their theories, such as the structural-functionalism theory, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. While the three theories attempt to describe how society functions the way it does, all three differ in their views of how humans are related to society and each other. In the structural-functionalism, the dominant view is that if the structures that exist are functional, then those structures should be preserved and maintained. Structure-functionalists tend focus on the interrelatedness to the social structures that make up society.

Documentation proves that social values make a commitment to criminal behavior, but that the presence of a genuine elective culture in out society has not been found. In any case, a few subcultural pockets, especially with respect to inner-city gangs, certainly exist and gives a few legitimacy for this point of view of deviance. With respect to social disorganization, we’ve established that neighborhood crime-fighting organizations are the hardest to set up in high-crime neighborhoods and the easiest to construct in low rate crime. With all that being said, there have been a few victories. Looking into intervention and outreach programs based on the cultural and subcultural perspectives might be a way to help lower-class, middle-class, or even inner-city