Question

Discuss Max Weber’s addition to Karl Marx’s ideas about Conflict Theory. Explain how
Max Weber’s ideas blend into the debate about the COVID-19 pandemic with specific
reference to Africa.

Answer 1

Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for limited resources. This theory is proposed by Karl Marx, who saw society as being made up of individuals in different social classes who must compete for social, material, and political resources such as food and housing, employment, education, and leisure time.German sociologist Max Weber agreed with Marx but also believed that, in addition to economic inequalities, inequalities of political power and social structure cause conflict.

On reaching the Horn of Africa, the corona virus will have encountered countries already facing a multitude of challenges. Prolonged armed conflict, drought and insecurity have turned more than eight million people into refugees in their own countries, and a further 3.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries where they live in overcrowded refugee camps. All the countries in this region are in a fragile state of political transformation or have been severely weakened by war and govern­ment failures. They possess neither the capacity to contain the Covid pandemic nor to mitigate the resulting unemployment, poverty and hunger. This requires an emergency aid package from abroad that will ensure the economic survival of all countries in the region. Sudden increase in population will cause inequalities and in this way max Weber idea's blend into the debate of covid-19 pandemic