Race, Gender, Social Class

Race, Gender and Social Class in the United States

Conflict Theory

The theory which can be used to explain race, class, ethnicity and gender inequalities in the social perspective is the conflict theory. Conflict theory places emphasis on the role of power and coercion in production of social order. This perspective has been derived from the theoretical works done by Karl Marx, who viewed society as groups that are fragmented in order to compete for economic and social resources. Social order is sustained by domination of those who have power in their hands and are also equipped with the greatest of economic, social and political resources. The conflict theory describes self as the end product of power's relations, and places emphasis on capitalist social structures such as alienation, class, domination and authority by stating that these structures are responsible for construction of the modern self. Therefore what happens in the society is usually based on the decisions of the majority and the minorities get affected adversely as they are not given importance, no one listens to them and their say is given no value (Farganis, 2007).

This causes inequality to exist in conflict theory because the people who actively make use of resources for their advantages are the ones who are in charge of the resources of society in a disproportionate share. This can be seen in America in terms of power being held by the white which is the majority groups. The masses thus do not adhere to the society's shared values because they want to, but because of the coercion which is the hands of the powerful people. This sociological perspective can be seen to emphasize social control, but does not bring about conformity or consensus. The groups and individuals of the white community usually resort to advancing their own interest, and work to maintain control of the resources of society (Farganis, 2007). This places negative effects on the minority groups present in the United States. A lot of attention is given to race, gender and class in this perspective because they are looked upon as the basis of the most enduring and important struggles in the society.

Two Ethnic Minorities in United States

The two ethnic minorities which need to be studied in the context of social inequalities and treatment in the society are the African Americans and the Asian Americans (Aronson, 2007). These ethnic minorities are a group of people who are different when it comes to color or race or in cultural, religious or national origin from the dominant group, which happens to be the white population which is the majority group in the United States. The distinct identity of these minorities is displayed in various different ways, ranging from different lifestyles, customs, language or dress, accent to preferences in terms of food. Apart from that, specific attitudes, political or economic beliefs and moral values that are held by the members of these groups also differ compared to the ones held by the people of the majority group ...