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It is the elite of society that dictates the rules to the masses. Institutions that are created are done so as a means of supporting those who are in power and those who are seen as superior within society. Any action that challenges those in power is perceived as deviant and discouraged. Conflict theory centers on: competition over scarce resources, inequalities in power, change as a result of conflict, and war as a unifier of society and an ender of societies ("Conflict theory," n.d.).
Prison institutions are easily understood in this view of society.
The elite of society need a way to maintain control of the individuals below them, utilizing the conflict paradigm.
Prison serves as punishment of those who deviate from the rules set forth, as well as serves as a deterrent for those who may be considering deviation. it's a powerful tool for those in power. However, just as in functionalism, the justification of its existence doesn't fully explain why America's rate of incarceration, specifically, is so high.
Like the functionalist viewpoint, the higher incidence of incarceration in the United States boils down to two distinct possibilities.
Either:
America's elite are more restrictive than other countries;...
America is nowhere near this extreme level of restrictiveness. Therefore, it is likely that the higher incidence of incarceration is due to the individualism of Americans in general, and their natural refusal to simply go along with authority for authority's sake. The country itself was built on conflict and the striving against the reins being held by Mother England. Prisoners have included those who have took actions that eventually resulted in freeing slaves, giving women the right to vote, and promoting civil rights for all races. Today's prisoners in America are sometimes tomorrow's heroic heroes.
References
Conflict theory. (No date). Retrieved October 10, 2007, at http://www.sociology.org.uk/p2t3.htm.
Holmwood, J. (2005). "Functionalism and its critics," in Harrington, a. (ed), Modern social theory: An introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Conflict and Functionalist Perspectives Regarding America's Incarceration Population
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