Karl Marx, the creator of conflict theory, believed that in every society the few are the powerful, and the masses the powerless, inciting resentment and rebellion. This effort to understand who has power and how much power they have can be seen in the whole society, smaller communities, or even individual relationships. Conflict theorists would associate a change in gender roles to the rising divorce rates in the United States. In the past, women depended entirely on men for financial security. A wife essentially belonged to her husband- her opinions, property, and body were not her own (20). Along came industrialization and with it came paychecks for women. As women began to gain more freedom from the dominance of men, they felt they had more power and more of a choice when it came to divorcing an abusive husband or ending an unhappy marriage
Karl Marx, the creator of conflict theory, believed that in every society the few are the powerful, and the masses the powerless, inciting resentment and rebellion. This effort to understand who has power and how much power they have can be seen in the whole society, smaller communities, or even individual relationships. Conflict theorists would associate a change in gender roles to the rising divorce rates in the United States. In the past, women depended entirely on men for financial security. A wife essentially belonged to her husband- her opinions, property, and body were not her own (20). Along came industrialization and with it came paychecks for women. As women began to gain more freedom from the dominance of men, they felt they had more power and more of a choice when it came to divorcing an abusive husband or ending an unhappy marriage