Application of Conflict Theory to Welfare Policy

Conflict theory represents a useful perspective in the conceptualization of welfare policy. Frances Fox Piven and Richard A. Cloward (1971) theorized that government distributes financial assistance (e.g., welfare) in response to conflict (e.g., rioting by the poor masses). Thus, welfare is a mechanism of control used in an effort to squelch rebellious poor people’s movements. The goal of this paper is to analyze the validity of Piven and Cloward’s thesis through a review of empirical literature that supports and challenges this thesis. Conflict theory will be utilized in a discussion of how it may inform further research in the field of welfare policy.