The contemporary American correction system is well organized into various operational facilities targeting the rehabilitation of various classes of criminals. The correction system is essentially organized into functional entities with an aim of implementing emerging social concerns affecting the society with regard to prescribed legislative provisions guiding the social justice system. The social conflict theory has essentially been used to formulate key rehabilitation programs to be used in the existing justice system.
“Conflict theory contends that in its normal state, society is held together by force, coercion, and intimidation. The values of different groups are often the basis of conflicting interests between those groups” (Regoli, Hewitt & DeLisi, 2009). The American correction system is essentially organized around the fundamentals of resolving the developing friction between different elements and individuals in the processing certain predetermined goals and objectives. The essence therefore is to provide a working solution targeting the various social discrepancies that occur on a daily basis in the contemporary American setting. “Law represents the interest of those groups that have attained the power or influence to decide legislation” (Regoli, Hewitt & DeLisi, 2009).
This informs the basis of social conflict theory around which majority of the law fundamentals of the Amrica correction systems derive their operational principles. Differences between Structural Marxism and Social Conflict TheoryAccording to structural Marxism, there are conflicts running beyond the clash existing between the capitalists and proletariat or masses and that these can only be solved by a single centre of power, the society’s elite (Akers, 1999). This therefore targets a specific clique of society who is essentially given the necessary rights to solve the resulting differences. The key focus of structural Marxism is essentially based on the physical and functional entities of the entire organizational system of the contemporary human society. “The greater the extent to which Marxist theory is modified to account for a multiplicity of conflicts and power groups, the closer it becomes a variation on pluralistic conflict theory” (Akers, 1999). According to social theory the society is essentially organized to fulfil the established social functions with fulfil the resulting social relations while maintaining the core societal elements in terms of social arrangements.
“The term ‘social relations of production’ refers to relationships among people, especially those relationships that are based on property, and the way material goods produced are distributed” (Regoli, Hewitt &p; DeLisi, 2009). Social conflict theory therefore strives to maintain the core functional entities such that in case there is an imbalance this is adequately dealt with through an established framework, the social justice system. Theory explaining CorrectionThe theory that strives at giving a distinct and proper placement to the definition of correction by expressing distinct and specific entities found in an operations social justice system. “Conflict involves the simultaneous process of resolving outstanding issue between the parties and changing the relations between them” (Vayry, 1991).
Conflict resolution therefore aims at resolving the developing circumstantial social dilemmas existing in a normal society. This primarily entails the development of a system that aims at instituting measures and mechanisms of re-establishing the key social elements which the whole society seems to be in agreement. Through the theory a value system is first identified, which form the guiding aspects to which other members of the society are elementally expected to abide. If the value system is broken then these members are taken to a social justice system that elementally addresses their concerns. Looking at the elements of structural Marxism, there is less attention given to the values system as more attention is towards maintaining structural performance.
