War What Is It Good For - 1386 Words

Sean Younce Professor Pokas Sociology 101 24 Jun 2015 War: What is it Good for? The three major sociological perspectives have conflicting viewpoints about warfare. The three sociological perspectives provide different interpretations of war. The Structural Functionalists focus on how war unites different peoples as they must work together to survive, as well as how war in general protect the freedom of the masses. Conflict Theorists focus on how militarism runs the world, from creating war to create capital to eliminating population through war. Symbolic Interactionists prefer to focus on how symbols( ex. the flag) play such an important role in supporting a war. With these overviews in mind, one can see how conflict theory is†¦show more content†¦Regardless of your opinion on war, historical evidence dictates that war has resolved disputes between nations, wherein winner of the war wins the dispute. Even though most would say that war only ends disputes because the loser dies, it has technically performed this function. Secon d, war generates a sense of social bonding within the societies at war. When people are faced with a common enemy, they unite with a shared purpose and become a greater force than any one alone could ever be. This dynamic is called the external conflict/internal cohesion process (Markides Cohn, 1982). Finally, war throughout history, such as those in which ancient Rome raped and pillaged the surrounding lands and peoples, led to the development of the nation-state as a political institution. Over time, these other peoples forgot their heritage and conformed to the Roman way of life. As these nations grew in stature, the size of their population allowed more room for the advancement of science, medicine, and politics. Therefore, war indirectly contributed to advances Conflict Theory Conflict theory’s perspective on war is considerably less positive than that of functionalism. There are quite a few different views within conflict theory in regards to war, but three main views are prominent. The first view exhibits