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Occupy Movement Theory

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The Occupy Movement exemplifies and reflects a societal reaction that reflects the views of conflict theory. The Occupy Movement arose worldwide in September of 2011 as a protest against social and economic disparity. Protesters flooded Wall Street in protest of corruption, greed, and general inequality. Occupy Wall Street inspired the world, sparking occupy protests across 82 different countries, taking place in over 950 cities. Because the movement became so massive, the Occupy Movement suffered for the same reason it prospered; though many took part in the protest, the more people showed up, the more the motive became less and less clear, no one leader being present among the entire protest who was able to represent the entire protest. …show more content…
The theory also states that the upper class controls all monetary and power distribution, the lower class then being left to serve the upper. Conflict theory, also known as conflict perspective, is derived from the thoughts of Karl Marx, who believed that society is a fluid, dynamic entity that is always undergoing change that is driven entirely by class conflict. In contrast, functionalism is about understanding society as a complex system that is striving for balance and equilibrium, the conflict perspective sees all social life simply as competition. According to this conflict perspective, society is comprised of individuals all competing for shared limited resources. These resources can be anything from money and power, to leisure and sexual partners. Conflict perspective sees this competition over the scarce resources as the heart of social relationships; this competition, as opposed to functionalist consensus, is a characteristic of all human relationships. Larger social structures or organizations such as religions or government appear to reflect this competition for resources, as well as the inherent inequality that this competition entails. Some people or organizations end up having more resources, such as power or influence, and as a result use these resources to uphold and maintain their higher positions of power in their

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