In The Introductory Lesson, You Learned About Three Major To ✓ Solved

In the introductory lesson, you learned about three major tr

In the introductory lesson, you learned about three major traditions in sociological theory (Structural-Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Theory) and how they apply to the study of social problems. Identify any social problem and do the following: Analyze the problem using the criteria in the first chapter of your textbook. Explain what makes the problem you've identified a "social problem" as defined within sociology. Why does it qualify? Choose one of the major sociological theories and apply it to the problem you've chosen. How might a sociologist within that tradition understand the problem? How do you think that theory could help explain or provide insight into the problem? Your submission should be approximately 700 words in length and should reflect consideration of course materials and previous lessons.

Paper For Above Instructions

Title: Homelessness as a Social Problem — A Conflict Theory Analysis

Selected social problem: Homelessness. Homelessness is a persistent social problem characterized by individuals and families lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. Using the canonical criteria typically presented in chapter one of introductory sociology texts — recognizable social pattern, measurable harms, public recognition and concern, social causes and consequences, and potential for social policy responses — homelessness clearly qualifies as a social problem.

Analysis Using Chapter One Criteria

1) Social pattern and scope: Homelessness is not only an individual misfortune but a patterned social condition. Annual counts and surveys show thousands to hundreds of thousands of people experience homelessness in many countries (HUD, 2023; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2022), with concentrations in urban centers and disparities across race, age, and gender (Culhane, Metraux, & Hadley, 2002).

2) Measurable harms: Homelessness is associated with elevated risk of poor physical and mental health, premature mortality, exposure to violence, and reduced access to employment and education (Hwang, 2001). These harms are documented in public health and social service research and impose measurable costs on individuals and public systems (Culhane et al., 2002).

3) Public recognition and social construction: While some see homelessness as a moral failing of individuals, public discourse, media, NGOs, and policy reports frame it as a social problem requiring collective responses (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2021; NAEH, 2022). This contested framing, however, influences policy choices and resource allocation.

4) Social causes and consequences: Structural factors — shortage of affordable housing, poverty, labor market inequalities, inadequate mental health and addiction services, and discriminatory housing practices — produce and reproduce homelessness (HUD, 2023; Wacquant, 2008). Consequences ripple into public health, criminal justice, and community stability.

5) Policy relevance: Homelessness prompts public policy debates about housing first models, supportive housing, emergency shelters, and criminalization of homelessness; these demonstrate the problem’s public-policy significance (NAEH, 2022).

Why Homelessness Qualifies as a Social Problem

Given the patterned distribution, measurable harms, public salience, structural causes, and policy implications, homelessness meets sociological definitions of a social problem: it is a condition that harms individuals and societies, is rooted in social organization and institutions rather than solely individual pathology, and is subject to collective responses and contestation (Snow & Anderson, 1993; Hwang, 2001).

Applying Conflict Theory

Conflict Theory, with roots in Marxist and neo-Marxist thought (Marx & Engels, 1848/1978; Dahrendorf, 1959), focuses on power inequalities, resource distribution, and the ways dominant groups maintain advantage. Applying Conflict Theory to homelessness highlights how structural inequality, class interests, and the commodification of housing produce and sustain homelessness.

From a conflict perspective, housing is treated as a commodity within capitalist markets rather than a social right. As market-driven forces concentrate land and housing wealth among property owners and developers, low-income households face exclusion from adequate housing due to rising rents, gentrification, and inadequate affordable housing production (Wacquant, 2008). Policies that prioritize private property rights, tax incentives for developers, and deregulation can benefit powerful economic actors while reducing access for marginalized groups, producing homelessness as a structural outcome rather than an individual failure (Culhane et al., 2002).

Power relations also shape criminalization and public responses. Conflict theorists would note that municipalities often manage visible homelessness through policing, camping bans, or displacement that serve middle- and upper-class interests in maintaining property values and public order (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2021). Such responses redirect costs onto marginalized people and reinforce social exclusion, while policy solutions that challenge property and profit structures—like large-scale public housing investment or rent regulation—are politically contested by powerful stakeholders.

How a Conflict Sociologist Understands the Problem

A conflict sociologist sees homelessness as an expression of structural inequality: economic restructuring (deindustrialization, precarious labor), austerity-era cuts to social services, and housing market dynamics have concentrated risk among the poor (Wacquant, 2008; Lee, Tyler, & Wright, 2010). Institutional actors—government, developers, financial institutions—act in ways that maintain existing hierarchies. Homelessness thus signals unresolved class conflict over access to vital resources.

Conflict theory also interprets public narratives and policy as ideological struggles. Blaming individuals diverts attention from systemic causes and helps justify punitive approaches (Snow & Anderson, 1993). Conversely, framing housing as a human right reframes the problem as a matter of distributive justice rather than individual pathology (NAEH, 2022).

Insights and Policy Implications from Conflict Theory

Conflict Theory suggests solutions that address power and resource distribution: large-scale public investment in affordable and supportive housing, stronger tenant protections and rent controls, progressive taxation to fund social housing, and policies that reduce commodification of housing (HUD, 2023; Culhane et al., 2002). It also implies advocacy and social movements are central: pressure from marginalized groups and allies can shift political priorities and challenge dominant interests to create structural change (Wacquant, 2008).

In sum, Conflict Theory provides a framework that locates homelessness in broader inequalities of wealth, power, and political influence. It explains why homelessness persists despite evidence-based interventions: solutions often clash with entrenched economic interests and ideological commitments. Addressing homelessness therefore requires not just service delivery but structural reform that redistributes resources and redefines housing as a social right.

References

• Culhane, D. P., Metraux, S., & Hadley, T. (2002). Public service reductions associated with placement of homeless people with severe mental illness in supportive housing. Housing Policy Debate, 13(1), 107–163.
• Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). (2023). The Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.
• Dahrendorf, R. (1959). Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society. Stanford University Press.
• Hwang, S. W. (2001). Homelessness and health. CMAJ, 164(2), 229–233.
• Lee, B. A., Tyler, K. A., & Wright, J. D. (2010). The new homelessness revisited. Annual Review of Sociology, 36, 501–521.
• Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1848/1978). The Communist Manifesto. In R. C. Tucker (Ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader (2nd ed.).
• National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH). (2022). State of Homelessness: 2022 Edition.
• National Coalition for the Homeless. (2021). Homelessness in America: Overview and policy issues.
• Snow, D. A., & Anderson, L. (1993). Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People. University of California Press.
• Wacquant, L. (2008). Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality. Polity Press.