Modern Sociological Theory: The Role Of Violence In Society

Violence is ubiquitous; and its roots are penetrative as well as pervasive in a society. And no society is free of all manifestations of violence. Therefore, it would be simplistic to believe that violence can be rooted out from any society. As Ralph Dahrendorf says, “neither a philosopher-king nor a modern dictator can abolish it once and for all”. Nevertheless, he hastens to add: “conflict can be temporarily suppressed, regulated, channeled and controlled but…” (159). The renowned sociologist Francis Abraham also holds a similar view. In his book entitled Modern Sociological Theory: An Introduction, he says “Social conflicts are inherent in the very nature of social organization; they cannot be eliminated altogether, only their expressions in specific contexts can be resolved” (112).
There would, no doubt, be universal agreement on the point that violence is essentially destructive. However, social critics like Marx, Sorel, Fanon and others have identified violence as an important catalyst for desirable changes in society. Violence erupts when there is an oppression of the ruled by the ruling, the powerless by the powerful, whatever the context is. Any oppression mounts tension on both sides, which at one point of time would naturally find an outlet. Whether the oppressed take the

Non-realisic conflics, on the other hand, although still involving interaction between two or more persons, are not occasioned by the rival ends of the antagonists, but by the need for tension release of at least one on them. In this case the choice of antagonists depends on determinants not directly related to a continuous issue and is not oriented toward the attainment of specific