 Dear students, in this module, we are going to discuss conflict and social change. And for this, we are going to talk about Karl Marx ideas about the social change. Karl Marx, a foundational figure in sociology, saw conflict, particularly the class conflict as a primary driver of social change. His perspective, known as the conflict theory or Marxist theory sees societies as characterized by struggles for power and resources. So, Karl Marx's idea was that the social change that occurs is always the result of a power struggle between the two economic classes. And in any society, in any social system, if you want to understand the changes that occur in society, then you need to understand the class structure in that society. So, he argued that capitalist societies are marked by fundamental conflict between the bourgeoisie, which are the owning class and the proletariat or the working class. The bourgeoisie class is the means of production, and the proletariat class is the working or labor class. So, Marx's idea was that these two classes are a continuous contestation, conflict, and struggling position. And the two classes are their own positions. So, this conflict arises from the economic system of capitalism, where the bourgeoisies control the means of production and the proletariat, they provide the labor. According to Marx, this class conflict eventually leads to the revolution, as the working class becomes conscious of its exploitation, a process he termed as class consciousness. The major social change that we can call a change in society is not from the evolutionary process, but rather from the revolution. And this revolution can happen when the proletariat class is conscious of its own class. And the meaning of being conscious of it is that it becomes successful in realizing that we are exploiting the proletariat bourgeoisie class because of our potential labor. And because of this realization, we will struggle to make sure that the potential exploitations minimize, reduce, or end. So, this revolution in Marx's view would lead to the overthrow of bourgeois and establishment of the socialist society. So, in the Marxist perspective, social change is not a smooth or gradual process, but rather a series of upheavals and revolutions. And this view contrasts to the other sociological theories, which are looking at the social change from an evolutionary point of view. The Marxist point of view is more drastic and more sudden and more abrupt changes through the process of revolution. So, he emphasizes on the role of economic structures and class conflict in driving the social change that provides a powerful lens through which to analyze these social transformations. So, his theories continue to shape the sociological understandings of social change, inequalities, and conflicts in the societies. If we really want to observe that why a certain society is perpetual in its structures, so we need to look at it from the Marxist point of view or the conflict theories lens. Conflict theory would provide us a better lens in a way that we can better assess that which potentially which group is exploiting the other group. Lastly, the Marxist ideas also give rise to the concept of dialectical materialism. It is a framework for understanding the progression of ideas and the society that emphasizes the importance of material conditions as the basis of societal change. So, remember that Max Weber proposed that the ideas can generate the social change. However, Marx disagrees to this point of view and he says that it is the material forces which are the driving force of the social change. So, this approach further underscores centrality of the conflict and material conditions in shaping the social change.