class conflict

Definition of Class Conflict

(noun) According to Karl Marx (1818–1883), the struggle between the capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat).

Example of Class Conflict

• The struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; the former regarding their maintenance of power and the status quo, the latter regarding pay, work conditions, and job security.

Class Conflict Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: class con·flict

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /klæs ˈkɑnflɪkt/
• British English – /klɑːs ˈkɒnflɪkt/

Usage Notes

• Plural: class conflicts
• Also called class struggle.

Related Quotation

• “Conflict perspectives argue that society is a continuous power struggle among competing groups, often based on class, race, ethnicity, or gender” (Kendall 2006:37).

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Economic Sociology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “class” and “conflict” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
• Collins, Randall. 1975. Conflict Sociology: Toward an Explanatory Science. New York: Academic Press.
• Coser, Lewis A. 1956. The Functions of Social Conflict. New York: Free Press.
• Dahrendorf, Ralf. 1988. The Modern Social Conflict: An Essay on the Politics of Liberty. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
• Grusky, David B., ed. 2014. Social Stratification: Class, Race, and Gender in Sociological Perspective. 4th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Kerbo, Harold Ray. 2012. Social Stratification and Inequality: Class Conflict in Historical, Comparative, and Global Perspective. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. 1848. The Communist Manifesto.
• Massey, Douglas S. 2007. Categorically Unequal: The American Stratification System. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
• Mills, C. Wright. 1956. The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Mosca, Gaetano. [1896] 1939. The Ruling Class. New York: McGraw-Hill
• Rex, John. 1981. Social Conflict: A Conceptual and Theoretical Analysis. London: Longman.
• Simmel, Georg. [1908] 1955. Conflict and the Web of Group Affiliations. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

Related Terms

• bourgeoisie
• class
• class trait
• means of production
• power
• proletariat
• stratification

Reference

Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Works Consulted

Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner. 2006. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. 5th ed. London: Penguin.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Dillon, Michele. 2014. Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Ferrante, Joan. 2011. Seeing Sociology: An Introduction. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.

Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.

Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Shepard, Jon M., and Robert W. Greene. 2003. Sociology and You. New York: Glencoe.

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Class Conflict

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “class conflict.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 1, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/class-conflict/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

class conflict. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/class-conflict/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “class conflict.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 1, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/class-conflict/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“class conflict.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/class-conflict/>.