Conflict Theory

Author: Zhou Weizhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: Most people generally consider conflict to be a troublesome and frustrating matter, and some even hope for a world free of conflict, where everything goes smoothly, "with no conflict forever." Of course, this is an unrealistic fantasy. Viewing conflict as having only negative effects and no positive significance is a one-sided perspective. In reality, conflict is a form of interaction between things, although it is primarily an opposite interaction. What stands in contrast to conflict is synergy. The founder of synergetics, Professor Haken of Germany, studied the synergistic interactions of various systems in the natural and social realms, highlighting the universality of synergy and its crucial role in the self-organization of systems. Similarly, the conflictual interaction is also the objective world. In our daily lives, the mutual opposition, disharmony, restraint, struggle, and antagonism between things are all manifestations of opposite interaction, or in other words, the manifestation of conflictual interaction; whereas coordination, consistency, mutual promotion, and cooperation are manifestations of synergistic interaction. As a form of interaction, conflict plays a significant role in the development and change of things—it is the root and driving force behind the transformation of all things. The reason conflict has such an effect is that it is itself a form of interaction. When conflict occurs, it creates an inherent need for resolution, which prompts things to change in order to overcome and resolve this conflict. For example, when a person faces psychological conflict, they are often caught in a whirlwind of mental struggle. Some may even lose their appetite, become restless, and sink into extreme distress. Only by resolving this psychological conflict or escaping from it can a person regain peace of mind, maintain physical and mental health, and continue to develop themselves. Life offers such an experience: when a person's desires and needs are met, they lose the motivation to move forward. Only dissatisfaction provides motivation. Here, "dissatisfaction" refers to the gap between the current state and a person's ideals and desires, or the conflict between the two. The saying "life's wealth and prosperity easily breed boredom, while poverty breeds desire" also illustrates this principle. Some even believe that a mild state of poverty is beneficial to a person's pursuit of success. As the German philosopher Nietzsche said, "Maintaining a mild state of poverty is a blessing." The development of plot in literary works often unfolds alongside the revelation of conflict. "In narrative works, conflict is the impetus and driving force behind characters' actions, and thus forms the foundation of the plot and a means of revealing character traits. Dramatic works, in particular, place great emphasis on the portrayal of conflict, as a lack of conflict cannot constitute a drama." The role of conflict in literary works reflects the role of conflict in real life. In nature, the opposite interaction of attraction and repulsion is also a form of conflictual interaction. Engels pointed out, "All movement exists in the interaction of attraction and repulsion." Every material movement is simultaneously subjected to the effects of attraction and repulsion. For example, the elliptical orbit of planets around the sun is influenced by the sun's attractive force, while their rotation around the sun generates centrifugal force, which acts as a repulsive force. Within the molecules and atomic nuclei, there are also simultaneous interactions of attraction and repulsion. In nature, it is the balance and transformation between these two interactions that determine the transformation between the equilibrium and non-equilibrium states of every material movement, and it is also one of the roots of the perpetual movement and change of the material world. In fact, the development and change of any thing are inseparable from conflict and are closely related to it. The development of things is precisely achieved through the overcoming and resolution of conflict. Taking the history of technological development in human society as an example, every invention and creation, every scientific and technological advancement, has actually emerged and developed through the overcoming and resolution of a series of related conflicts. Take the written characters that have been used for thousands of years, for instance. Before the invention of writing, our ancestors used methods such as knotting ropes, drawing pictures, and carving notches for counting and recording events. These methods were not only cumbersome but also difficult to clearly express complex ideas. As human social production developed and interactions expanded, the problems of "cumbersomeness" and "difficulty in expression" became increasingly prominent, indicating that the original methods of counting and recording were no longer suitable for social needs and were in conflict with them. It was this conflict that drove people to improve these methods, ultimately leading to the invention of written characters.
Movable-type printing, one of China's four great inventions, was invented by the skilled craftsman Bi Sheng during the of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. Before movable-type printing, books were printed using whole blocks of carved wood, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Even a block of wood with hundreds of characters could be ruined by a single mistake. Clearly, this laborious printing method was in conflict with people's demand for efficiency, labor savings, and material savings. As social and cultural development progressed, the need for large-scale book printing became more pressing, and this conflict became increasingly evident, forcing people to improve printing methods. Bi Sheng was the first to recognize this conflict. Through practice, he discovered that if a carved block had a mistake, the incorrect character could simply be chiseled away and replaced with the correct one. This led him to think further: why not use movable type for typesetting? Thus, a major invention was conceived. The adoption of movable-type printing allowed each carved character to be flexibly and repeatedly used, with one character serving the purpose of many, marking a qualitative leap in printing technology. While the invention of movable-type printing was undoubtedly due to Bi Sheng's wisdom and effort, the driving force behind it was ultimately the conflict between the existing printing methods and social needs. Not only do inventions and creations arise from the conflict between people's social practice and needs, but their development and refinement also depend on overcoming and resolving a series of related conflicts. It is well-known that every invention and creation is initially imperfect and meets social needs only relatively. With the continuous development of human social production, people's social needs are also constantly evolving (from basic to advanced, from simple to complex and diverse), and thus, in practical use, they inevitably fall short of the increasingly developed needs of people, leading to inconsistencies and mismatches. Historically, the invention of the steam engine met the demand for power in the industrial revolution, but its weaknesses—such as cumbersome structure, low thermal efficiency, and lack of safety—created a sharp conflict with the increasingly developed social needs of later periods. After Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, it became the dominant lighting technology in human history. However, its low luminous efficiency, high energy consumption, and short lifespan conflicted with people's demand for energy conservation and environmental protection. This conflict provided the impetus for further improvement. People have been driving this development through continuous practice, overcoming and resolving such conflicts, making these technologies increasingly aligned with people's needs. The emergence of electric motors and internal combustion engines as new power sources replacing steam engines, as well as the advent of energy-saving lights and various high-efficiency lighting devices, are also products of people resolving such conflicts. Of course, the creation, development, and refinement of every technological invention depend on the maturity of relevant material and technical conditions, the accumulation of historical experience, and the efforts of inventors. However, the driving force behind the creation, development, and refinement of technological inventions is ultimately the conflict between people's social practice and needs, and the resolution of this conflict determines the general direction of their development, making them increasingly suited to the evolving needs of society.
First, it must be clarified that social interests refer to the public interests, the interests of the majority, and the interests of human development, not the selfish interests of individuals or groups. The things and phenomena that conflict with or oppose people's social interests mainly include the following: 1. Various hostile entities and criminal acts (a category of things and phenomena defined as "criminal acts" within the legal framework). Examples include smuggling, drug trafficking, theft, robbery, murder, arson, corruption, tax evasion, extortion, etc. These acts hinder the establishment of social order, infringe on people's legitimate rights and interests, and cause significant losses to the state and the public. They are in sharp conflict with people's social and developmental interests. These criminal acts should be firmly and eliminated. 2. Various adverse entities and general illegal acts (a category of things and phenomena defined as "general illegal acts" within the legal framework). Examples include unfair competition in the business sector, non-standard language in advertisements, false advertising, illegal urban construction, violations of traffic regulations, the production and sale of counterfeit and shoddy products, etc. These acts also infringe on people's social interests and hinder the establishment of social order. They should be excluded and banned. Naturally, there are differences in nature between these acts and criminal acts, and thus different methods of prohibition and elimination are adopted. In China, criminal acts are regulated and punished by criminal law, with, while general illegal and regulatory acts are subject to administrative penalties, with criticism and education for the offenders, up to and including corrective measures. 3. Things that are more harmful than beneficial. Such things have both benefits and harms, but overall, the harms outweigh the benefits. People also adopt an attitude of exclusion and prohibition after weighing the pros and cons. Of course, whether certain things are harmful, whether they are more harmful than beneficial, or whether they are more beneficial than harmful, may not be immediately apparent at the outset. There is both a process of understanding and an objective process for things to reveal their essence from the surface to the core. But after a period of practical understanding, people summarize the pros and cons, recognize that something is more harmful than beneficial or harmful, and then should decisively adopt an attitude of exclusion and prohibition. For example, when multi-level marketing (MLM) was introduced into China, it gained popularity for a time. However, after a period of practice, it was proven to be more harmful than beneficial, detrimental to the conduct of normal market competition, harmful to the establishment of market order, and even provided opportunities for counterfeit and shoddy products and fraudulent activities, leading to numerous social problems. As a result, it was quickly banned by the Chinese government. Prize savings, which were once a popular business for commercial banks and postal savings agencies, were once a popular business. However, officials from the People's Bank of China pointed out that according to the legally published interest rates by the People's Bank of China, every depositor is entitled to legitimate interest. Prize savings, however, paid interest to a small number of winners from the interest of the majority of depositors, which was clearly unfair. Therefore, the establishment of prize savings was more harmful than beneficial and should be stopped. Similarly, playing video games is more harmful than beneficial for primary and secondary school students. Japanese children do not play video games. Some compare electronic game machines to "electronic heroin," as they are easily addictive for young, naive children lacking self-control, leading to neglect of studies, mental health damage, and vision impairment. Some gaming parlors even use computer games for gambling, causing some minors to become, even leading them down the path of crime. Given that playing video games is more harmful than beneficial for primary and secondary school students, relevant government departments have long prohibited gaming parlors from admitting them. 4. Outdated and backward things. People generally adopt an attitude of exclusion and elimination toward such things because they conflict with and oppose people's developmental interests. Once something more advanced and better suited to needs can replace them, people will inevitably do so without hesitation. It is well-known that throughout history, in all fields of technology, production, and daily life, advanced things have replaced outdated ones, and things that better meet needs have replaced those that no longer do, without interruption alongside the progress of human civilization. In summary, everything that is detrimental to people's social interests, everything that harms or damages people's social interests, is included in the category of exclusion. The conflict between them and people's interests is an exclusionary conflict. In such conflicts, one party represents people's social and developmental interests (the role of the main protagonist should be played by the government, as according to social functions, the government should be the representative of the interests of the people and the public interest). The other party is the object of conflict that should be negated and excluded. Exclusionary conflicts are resolved through one party excluding, replacing, or eliminating the other. This exclusion and replacement is, of course, a process of struggle, especially when it involves objects in the social sphere. Due to the complex web of interests and the profound historical and social roots involved, to exclude them often proves difficult and may require a long, repeated, winding, and arduous struggle. For example, the fight against smuggling and drug trafficking is full of danger and violence. Every year, countries around the world invest heavily in this fight, consuming vast amounts of human, material, and financial resources. However, smuggling and drug trafficking remain rampant and persistent. This struggle will continue for a long time. People mainly achieve the goal of exclusion and replacement through the following methods: 1. Direct exclusion method This method aims to directly eliminate or exclude the other party. Examples include eliminating enemies in war, suppressing counter-revolutionary forces, eradicating corruption, and taking prohibition and elimination actions against other harmful or damaging things and phenomena to people's social interests. The use of this method also requires effectiveness. Relying on the authority of state organs and their coercive power to prohibit and eliminate all acts and things that harm or damage people's social interests through legislation is undoubtedly an effective method and is frequently used in modern legal societies. This approach can, on the one hand, leverage the coercive power of the state and the authority of law to quickly unify people's understanding and clarify right and wrong, and to regulate people's behavior. On the other hand, it can also effectively achieve the desired goals through the use of legal weapons.