William Blake | Critique Of Organized Religion

William Blake | Critique Of Organized Religion William Blake is known to be a lunatic of his time, from 1757 to 1827, for producing imaginative engravings and mystical poems with radical opinions regarding society and fundamental beliefs. For this reason, his work was not appreciated by the general public at that time even though they eventually became extremely influential on the literary movement known as Romanticism. His condemnation of the authoritarianism nature of organized religion is blatantly shown in Songs of Experience through the depiction of relentless suffering because of the belief that organized religion and social injustice are essentially conflated. For instance in The Garden of Love from Experience, Blake creates a contrast between the innocence and carefree nature of children [playing] on the green, which is also seen in The Echoing Green in Songs of Innocence, and criticism of the Church represented by the metonym, Chapel. The reference to green represents the centre of the village community before the Indust rial Revolution and more importantly, to the innocence of the prelapsarian. In addition, the fact that the Chapel is built in the midst illustrates the view that the Church predominantly causes corruption and hardship in society where contentment is a thing of the past as implied by the expression used to. Consequently, the binary opposition of innocence, the idyllic nature of childhood and experience, the corruption of mankind in the titles of the volumes is an ironic contrast to symbolize the constraints of religious doctrines and the agony inflicted on people as a result. Gaining worldly experiences and knowledge will ultimately distort our innocence; so Blake criticizes the Church and its part in causing as well as upholding social injustice during the Industrial Revolution. This is worthy of exploring because Blake is a poet of the first generation of romanticism so he wrote passionate poems as a protest during the Industrial Revolution when values are shifted and oppression of the poor was a norm. Therefore we are able to get an insight into what people felt during that time of adversity through Blakes powerful lyrical delivery using poetic language, rather than having to interpret meaningless facts and figures. The isolated Songs of Innocence was first published in 1789, and the combined volume of Songs of Innocence and of Experience was later published in 1794, which turns out to be one of the most famous illuminated books Blake has ever composed. He brought about a groundbreaking technique at the time, relief etching, which enabled him to combine visuals and words to present a holistic representation of his vision to the reader. The combination of the two volumes includes an extra subtitle Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul, to illustrate the two extremes of mankind; innocence which can be associated with the prelapsarian before The Fall of Man and experience, usually associated with the postlapsarian. This can be seen in the engravings on the title page of this volume of flames representing Gods wrath blasting over Adam and Eve who are covering their loins, illustrating their state of experience. As well as that, the additional heading emphasizes the importance of Blakes intention for the two originally separated books to be read side by side, so a complete argument is offered because Without contraries is no progression, he insisted. For instance, complementary poems of the same name like Introduction can be found in both Songs, acting as commentaries on each other with diverse viewpoints. The poem from the Innocence collection is simple with an optimistic tone, showing life through the eyes of children. In the first two lines, we sense that the narrator is youthful and untainted by the world because the repetition of Piping suggests a purely spontaneous and natural form of music. In addition, the fact that the songs are without lyrics symbolizes that in this period of innocence children are not confined to the complex meanings spoken words denote. As a direct contrast, in Introduction of Experience, The Holy Word has been heard by people; signifying complexity is brought into life after gaining experiences and they are subjected to exploitation an d suffering. Other than that, we can observe from the title pages of both Songs the graduation of life. This is because the young children portrayed in Innocence receive education from a nurse, which represents joy and innocence as shown in Nurses Song, the nurse says My heart is at rest within my breast And everything is still when she watches children play on the field. A similar form of innocence is evident in her because she takes pleasure in watching her children in their carefree spirit. However on the title page of Experience, the young children from Innocence are grown up and shown to be weeping by the deathbed of their parents. This symbolizes that children eventually have to grow to endure the harsh experiences life brings, for example death as signified by Runs in blood down Palace walls in London. In addition, they are prone to experience suffering that life as well as society brings to them, the latter being ironical because of the exploitation of children during that period in jobs like chimney sweeping. This is suggested in the Introduction of Innocence where the progression of the last two stanzas foreshadows a transformation from innocence to experience. An element of purity is brought forward when the narrator uses water as ink to write, since it is typically used to represent purity. As t he narrator staind the water clear it is also implied that sins will eventually corrupt the purity of the child, and the inevitability that innocence will turn into experience is first proposed. Therefore, Blake seems to be suggesting that we find our own balance through these subtle comparisons between the two states and to enhance his disapproval of the treatments of people at that time by painting a model scenario of what would be more desirable. In the pairing of The Lamb from Innocence and The Tyger from Experience, a realistic perspective on religion is put forward when the naÃÆ' ¯f ignorant view of children is set against a cynical experienced view. The Lamb is structured like a catechism, which is used to be used to teach children religious teachings, with questions and answers in the first and second stanza, respectively. The central question from the narrator is Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? This happens to be one of the fundamental and controversial problems of humanity, concerning the creation of life and the universe. The repetition of Little Lamb, Ill tell thee in the first two lines of the second stanza shows the narrators confidence in his answer. Blake illustrates the link between the lamb and Jesus Christ, whom is symbolically the Lamb of God, in the lines: For he calls himself a Lamb. He is meek, he is mild. The alliterative adjectives meek and mild are a conventional belief of Christs traits and the emphasized connection between the Lamb and Christ is evident. Therefore, this depicts the simple and innocent faith that is typical in children because they do not question their beliefs or authorities, even though the idea of a little child being the creator of the Little Lamb should seem absurd to an innocent mind. On the other hand, in The Tyger there are a series of rhetorical questions posed, rather than one central, focused one, and the tone seems slightly interrogative, adding more tension to the poem. The question which explicitly relates it to The Lamb is in the fifth stanza: Did he who made the Lamb make thee? The poem presents a questioning of whether or not the same divine being or immortal hand or eye is the creator of both the lamb and the tyger, if so; why would He create such a terrifying creature anyway? The destructive nature of the tyger is expressed throughout the poem, for example in the second stanza. The imagery of the fire burning within its eyes exudes a sense of ferocity and danger, which is also suggested by its fearful symmetry. As well as that, the regular iambic meter with a stressed first syllable on each line gives the poem an aggressive and pounding rhythm. This brings the tyger to life, conveying its movements and the reader can feel the beating heart in the poem , adding a layer of intensity, whereas in The Lamb, there is a resemblance to songs and hymns with a calm rhythm to it. This is due to the soft vowels and repetitive couplets, giving the poem a sense of flowing continuity. Consequently, the tyger is essentially a symbol for the evil and darkness of human nature which eventually is responsible for instigating the social evils, as opposed to innocence and goodness represented by the lamb. According to that, the poem offers the reader a more experienced issue so to speak, that God produces suffering and violence in the world too, challenging the typical and conventional beliefs of God that innocent Christians would possess. Another point worth noting is that the tyger portrayed in the poem is in some ways reminiscent of the devils of the Industrial Revolution. The reason behind this is that God is presented as a blacksmith with the craftsmanship of divinity, suggested by the lexes: hammer, chain, furnace and anvil in the fourth stanza which can be associated to the tools and noises that may be heard during that period. The simple union of the two concepts of an imperfect God creating good and evil embodied in the lamb and the tiger, and the endless suffering the Industrial Revolution resulted in, gives the reader a glimpse into Blakes ideology of the relationship between organized religion and social injustice. The conflict between the discussions of creation in the two aforementioned poems leads to the imminent theme of social injustice, which Blake regarded to be made available by the Church which he also accuses to be responsible for repression. This is explored in the two different The Chimney Sweeper poems as Kathleen Raine delicately puts it: The Chimney Sweeper of Innocence can escape in dreams into a heavenly country; but Experience reminds us that the crimes of society against the children of the poor are none the less for that.  [1]  First of all, in the poem in Innocence, even though the sweeper is abandoned as implied by the lines [his] mother diedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ And [his] father sold [him], he seems to be content with his situation. In contrast, the narrators conscious awareness and blame of his parents betrayal and their part in his abject circumstances in Experience is apparent in the lines: Where are thy father mother? Say? They are both gone up to the church to pray. To hide their guilt, the parents go to church and praise God, perhaps so that their sins of abandoning their child to a dangerous job can be forgiven. Optimism is first shown in Innocence in the dialogue the narrator has with Tom, Hush, Tom! Never mind it, for when you heads bare You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. A sense of hope in shown in this speech, which is typical of children but it can also mean that nothing can remove the innocence of children, through the juxtaposition of white hair symbolizing purity and blackness of the soot which can not only represent evilness of man that led to this suffering but sins too; also beginning with the letter, s. However, Blake proves this to be untrue in other poems as the innocent will eventually get exposed to the corruption and distortion that comes with age and experience. On the other hand, The Chimney Sweeper in Experience acts as a complaint of the exploitation of children to be chimney sweepers with bitterness, presenting the hard reality. Rather than believing that So if all do their duty they need not fear harm like the chimney sweep in Innocence believed, which is full of naivety because he is hopeful in the cruelty of his situation and faithful that being obedient will eventually get him to the place he wants to be Heaven; he believed that Because I was happy upon the heath, And smild among the winters snow, They clothed me in the clothes of death, And taught me to sing the notes of woe. Blake uses a half rhyme in this stanza to stress the atrocity of the situation and the extent of the narrators suffering. Therefore, the narrator acknowledges that he is made a victim because his parents envy his happiness so he is clothed in the clothes of death which may resemble the black soot that covers a chimney sweepers body and clothes, or it can illustrate his life of endless suffering that resembles death anyway. As well as that, the belief of the narrator in Innocence is twisted and ironic in a way since the nature of the job is dangerous, as implied in the poem in Innocence through coffins of black conveying death, so in reality they are constantly being harmed. Therefore this may suggest that organized religion sometimes makes it possible for children to be made victim of their own innocence. Similarly in Experience, the chimney sweep has been dehumanized to A little black thing and the stark contrast of colors between the snow and him is indicative that he is corrupted to simply a spot of impurity upon the snow. Blakes contempt and skepticism for parents who fail to protect their children, and authorities in England at that time are evident in the final stanza. After the exploitation of children, the parents think they have doneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ no injury which shows their ignorance because in fact the children are not only physically harmed but also psychologically. The plate of this poem paints a realistic picture of a chimney sweep looking at the sky full of gloom, with a bag on his back presumably filled with soot. The effect of this design is that it gives the poem a quality of poignancy because the boy is alone, after knowing that his guardians have disregarded his safety. Other than that, the last two lines of the poem are a powerful accusation due to the fact that Blake condemns God his Priest King. In other words, the Church and the government are criticized for endorsing and upholding the chimney sweep trade, but God is also reproached for his callousness and for condoning the suff ering of His children, His lambs. Blake seems to be suggesting that the Church and the government are conspiring to oppress the weaker communities in society, for instance the poor, perpetuating their misery. The conclusion of the poem, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ make up a Heaven of our misery evokes much thought since it is the narrators realization that the authorities who provoke the suffering makes certain promises of Heaven, of eternal joy, if hed be a good boy as told by the Angel in Innocence. However, these may merely be a form of illusion designed to make the agony and cruelty of the world seem plausible and even honorable. A reference to chimney sweepers is also made in the famous poem London in Experience, bringing to light the exploitation of children at that time and the social degradation that resulted. This is shown in the third stanza where the victim, Chimney-sweepers, along with the others such as the Harlot and Soldier, is shown as a proper noun to enhance the scrutiny of the suffering they are made to endure. The cry refers to the line Could scarcely cry weep! weep! weep! weep! in The Chimney Sweeper of Innocence, which not only echoes innocence because it acts as a plaintive cry but it also urges the reader to empathize with the boy. However it also indicates that the boy is unable to correctly pronounce sweep, which comes with age. Therefore it deepens the effect of the poem since a young innocent boy has to seek ways to escape from the atrocities in life that he needs to face; which in reality he should not have to. The second line reminds the reader of Blakes criticism that the Church con dones chimney sweeping, which covered the children with black soot. Plus, the word blackning symbolizes the corruption and wearing down of the reputation of the Church and its morality which appalls Blake, as well as the citizens of London and the reader. The choice of vocabulary is very interesting here, as appalls acts as a pun insinuating death; a pall being a cloth to cover a coffin, further suggesting that the Church condones death which is also used in Holy Thursday of Innocence. On the contrary, The Ecchoing Green of Innocence, which can be considered to be the counterpart of London, depicts a day in the life of children enjoying the freedom of nature as indicated by the first line The Sun does rise representing dawn and in the last stanza, dusk: The sun does descend. Consequently, it is possible that this reflects the cycle of life as well and the graduation of childhood to maturity. Other than that, the freedom of nature is evident through the repetition of words that gives a sense of happiness throughout, for instance happy, merry, chearful, laugh and so on. It is apparent that the delightful tone conveys an idealistic love for nature and life as opposed to the revulsion of what has become of ones existence in London. The form of London is crucial in understanding the main theme; the alternate rhyming lines, and consistent number of lines and syllables with a simple rhythm throughout evoke a feeling of limitation. Consequently, it provides an initial idea that the poem will contain numerous images of restriction and an in-depth study of the fears of the people during that period of time. The Ecchoing Green however, has three verses of ten short lines with an alternating rhyme scheme. The effect of the short lines is that the rhyme is heard more frequently so the ambiance of the poem is more lighthearted instead of the dark, bitter tone of London. Other than that the rhyme enables the poem to flow, and producing the echo as suggested by the title at the same time, which brings to mind a raw setting. The notion of confinement of London is further dealt with in the ambiguity of the word that appears in the first line charterd, which is also repeated in the next line, as it can convey freedom as well as constraint and control. However when the word is put against the phrase Thames does flow, an oxymoron is created by implying that a flowing river is being restrained; further developing the notion of a lack of freedom in the city. In addition, the progression from a visual imagery in the first stanza Marks of weakness, marks of woe, to aural in the next In every Infants cry of fear makes it virtually impossible for the reader or audience to shy away from the grave topic. Blake makes use of a pun in mark where it is first used as a verb in mark in every face and next as a noun to emphasize the commonality of misery. On another note, the numerous cases in which deliberate repetition is used in the poem not only give emphasis to the subject but it also reinforces the idea of human degradation that should not be overlooked. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice, in every ban, The mind-forgd manacles I hear. The insistent repetition of every in this case emphasizes that the suffering and agony presented is a social norm, begging for the readers concern and attention. Yet, the last line of the stanza brings to mind the psychological torment the Church endorses; the restriction of thoughts and desires as implied by the mind-forgd manacles that bind the mind from thoughts and any outbursts of rebellion. Also, this can be related to The Garden of Love mentioned beforehand, since it alludes to the fact that organized religion and the Church has a major role in oppressing the poor. For instance, the imagery Blake uses to portray this is the Garden of Love which is now filled with graves,/ And tomb-stones where flowers should be. The graves and tomb-stones signify death after the loss of innocence, represented by the sweet flowers of the past, due to religious authorities. This conclusion can be drawn because of the imperative quote, Thou shalt not written on the door of the Chapel, a biblical allusion to the Ten Commandments, and an instrument to make repression and prohibition of expression appear acceptable whereas at the same time showing the extent of the restriction imposed by religious doctrines. Although this poem has an implicit link with London, a more obvious connection can be found between it and The Ecchoing Green, which is why many critics claim that the latter is the true counterpart assigned to it. The line that draws immediate connection to The Ecchoing Green is: Where I used to play on the green in the first stanza, where the comparison of the tranquility of The birds of the bush,/ Sing lounder around is made against the garden which is destroyed by the regimentation of organized religion. A stark contrast is shown between The Ecchoing Green and London with regards to love within a family. For instance, in the former poem the children return to their mothers and through a simple simile Like birds in their nest, Blake is able to convey innocent love in family life whereas in London even the most fundamental relationship one between mother and child, is tainted. This is evident in the last stanza where a prostitute is portrayed as a representative of women who were victims in England during that time. Plagues implies that the prostitute will pass on venereal disease to her children and family, hence the curse on the infant and the paradoxical expression: Marriage hearse. This is because a hearse is associated to death and funerals; implying that she will wreck the marriage. Other than that, the disease she carries illustrates the corruption of physical self which Blake intended to be a criticism of societys lack of support for this community. Additionally, the pun made on curse can be of the cussing due to her self-loathing for the distress she causes her child, or it can be the horrors that the child will eventually have to face in the world. As opposed to the affectionate mothers in The Ecchoing Green, she is responsible for passing on a disease. The curse can also be on society because everyone is potentially cursed; the total degradation of life and health gives a poignant yet powerful indictment on the social injustices the blackning Church makes allowances for. Furthermore, a powerful condemnation is made in the final two lines of The Garden of Love, And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys desires. Throughout the poem the first and third lines of each stanza rhyme but the last line is inconsistent with this rhyme scheme, hence highlighting its importance. An anti-priest view is stated when the connection between Priests and black gowns are made because it suggests that organized religion is responsible for the death and the graves that are previously discussed. The internal rhyme in these two lines is significant because it shows the restriction imposed by the Church and it connects important words together, such as briars and desires. Consequently it reflects the suppression of thoughts and the dictatorship of the Church over peoples freedom. Similarly, the two Holy Thursday poems form an accusation against society for hypocrisy and for the grim lives of children living on charity when read collectively. The two poems depict children from charity schools setting out to St. Pauls Cathedral on Ascension Day, also known as Holy Thursday. However, each of the poems offers a different perspective of the occasion. For instance in the poem in Innocence there are repetitions of words such as Innocent, white, flowers, radiance and lambs, suggesting innocence and delight. At first look the poem seems to be of children singing praise like a mighty wind to the authorities that help the poor the wise guardians of the poor, however the readers interpretation of it may shift after reading the more realistic view in the poem in Experience. The mighty wind of their voices has now become a trembling cry which is ironic since the children shown in Innocence are full of power but in reality they are powerless when being exploited. As well a s that the wise guardians are now compared to being a usurous hand. This effectively demonstrates Blakes criticism that the supposed guardians lack the attention and compassion for the wellbeing of children as they are figuratively compared to a hand. Therefore these two examples show Blakes use of duality in his symbolisms and metaphors to enhance his complaint of society. However, the difference between the experiences of the world of the narrators from each of the poems may be due to the difference in their beliefs and their exposure to reality. Blakes usage of contrasting colours of the uniforms in red blue green with the grey-headed beadles in the first stanza of the poem in Innocence suggests that innocence is in the hands of abused authority. Furthermore, the wands as white as snow may evoke a sense of innocence but the wand can equally suggest rigidity and regimentation. Other than that, the repetition of the quantity of people participating in the occasion in the words: multitude and thousands, shows the large amount of poverty that existed, on a literal level. It also urges us to question why the charities are necessary in the first place, therefore challenging the quality of life people had at that time. On the other hand, a more explicit condemnation is made through the rhetorical questions and partial answers in Experience. Firstly, in the first stanza the flowers are now Babes reducd to misery, which shows the vulnerability of the innocence to be exploited and it makes clear of what they have become victims. Th e rhetorical question presented therefore is whether or not it is a holy thing that some people are still so miserable in such a well-developed country. Also, this can emphasize the views brought forward in The Tyger, challenging the conventional God which brings pain and torture as suggested by the phrase filld with thorns, as well as evil to the world. The answer to the question seems to be in the second stanza, where the repetition of poorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ poverty! creates an emphasis on the hostile conditions, where the relentless suffering of the children are also illustrated through the repetition of And their in the third stanza. Therefore the ironic contrast between a rich and fruitful land and a land of poverty is formed, where the latter may in actual fact suggest the spiritual poverty of the system which appears to be the root of the problem. This is also suggested in the puns of the last stanza where the words sun and rain bring to mind son and reign, respectively. These w ords can be related back to Jesus and it shows that as long as Jesus is present in the people there will be spiritual fulfillment. As a result, the reason for the exploitation of children is suggested to be due to peoples lack of spiritual welfare so they compensate by being materialistic. The two lines in which these puns are used, For where-eer the sun does shine, And were-eer the rain does fallà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ present a vision and hope for the future where children are no longer abused by the system. Plus, references to the nature are made as opposed to the eternal winter caused by men and industrialization, which shows the bleakness of the children. The structures of the two poems contribute a lot to their purposes too; for example the iambic heptameter and relatively longer lines in Holy Thursday in Innocence informs the reader about the gravity of the matter being dealt with, whilst the short lines of the poem in Experience is more upfront about the bitter indignation it offers. The rhyming couplets in each verse of the poem in Innocence give a sense of the march of the children that is being depicted. As well as that, the plates paint a melancholic and authentic picture of the reality of the situation where in Innocence children are being lead by the beadles whereas victims of poverty are depicted in Experience. The latter plate gives a picture of dead children and their helpless mothers in horror at the sight of them. Consequently, if we look at the two plates together they imply that the beadles or establishment symbolically led the children to their death and suffering, which may be Blakes intention after all. In conclusion, through the exploration of these various sets of poems, a deeper understanding into Blakes critique of the social conditions and exploitation that are condoned by a supposed guardian of society, the Church, is evident. This is apparent through the blatant portrayal of suffering and darkness in the poems in Experience, most notably in London where the depths of despair is shown through the Marks of weakness, marks of woe. He emphasizes that this act of inducing misery on others by the Church is despicable through his numerous allusions towards it, mentioning that Every blackning Church appalls. As a result, it makes a bold and unashamed denigration of organized religion in the 18th century. However, due to the dualism and the binary opposites that Blake makes use of through the concept of contrary states, he is also able to form an ironic satire out of certain poems in Innocence to emphasis that children are easily exposed to the evils of the world so we as readers must look deeper and help the victims. This is apparent in the last line of Holy Thursday in Innocence: Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door where Blake attempts to tell the reader to be compassionate. The concept of dualism is with the intention that the extreme conditions can be laid out and the magnitude of the problem can be recognized, especially the social evils made possible and upheld by the Church, thus the reader can empathize with the victims. Therefore, it is possible that Blake merely aims to bring the harsh conditions to light whilst advising the reader to proceed to make a change to rid of the evils of the authoritarians. Functionalism and conflict: Sociological theories Functionalism and conflict: Sociological theories Sociology is a social science that studies society and the individual in perspective of Society. The origins of Sociology lie in the 19th century but during the 1960-70s, it became a major social science subject, taught in universities and colleges, and schools. The scope of sociology has only become more scientific with time. (Sociology Guide, no date) Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behavior as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes. (Giddens cited on Sociology guide, 1989). Sociology enables to gain a better understanding on how the interaction among the society members works. Through the knowledge on sociology, we are able to improve our networking which is very useful and important for businesspeople. The study of sociology today focuses on three primary theoretical perspectives: the symbolic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. 1.2 Functionalism Functionalism views society as a system that is a set of interconnected parts which together form a whole (India, 2009). It emphasizes on the macro level of society and its various parts are understood mainly in term of their relationship to the whole. The founder, Emile Durkheim suggested that social consensus takes one of two forms: namely mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is a situation where people with similar vision and beliefs together achieve goal in the society. In contrast, organic solidarity said that although people in the society are interdependent they hold different values and beliefs. 1.3 Symbolic Interactionist Perspective The symbolic interactionist perspective, directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how people interact with each other (Cliffsnotes, no date). According to this theory, people attach meanings to symbols, and then they act according to their subjective interpretation of these symbols (Cliffsnotes, no date). Early Conflict Theory Conflict theory was introduced by a great German theorist and political activist, Karl Marx (1818-1883). The founder of this conflict mentioned that history of social life began from providing the basic necessities of life such as- food, clothing and shelter (McClelland, 2000).In order to survive in the danger, humans realize the need to work together to improve the social structure (Hatch and Cunfille,2006, p.28). Karl Marx insisted that all things with values in society are the contribution of labor through their engagement in creating the society for their own existence (McClelland, 2000). According to Marx, the society is divided into two classes, the bourgeoisie which is the owners of capital and the proletariat- the labors. Division of labor refers to breaking down of large jobs into many tiny components (Dhamee, 1995). Division of labors, therefore, leads to alienation that is the disenfranchising of workers from the product of their work efforts (Hatch and Cunfille, 2006, p.29). Labor, in fact, is defined as the cost of production rather than merely the means to achieve a collective benefit for the society (Hatch and Cunfille, 2006, p.29). It gives humans a purely instrumental relationship based on their economic value of potential to do work (Hatch and Cunfille, 2006, p.29). Therefore, when the capitalists accepted this alienation, exploitation will take place. As The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language (2000) cited in The Free Dictionary (no date), exploitation refers to the utilization of another person or group for selfish purposes. The central institution of a capitalist society is private property, the system where the capital owned by the dominant groups is controlled by the small minority of the population (McClelland, 2000). The major conflict is on whether which group should get the biggest share of profit. The owner of the land argued that they are entitled as they are the providers of the factors of production whereas the labor stressed that they are the involving in all production. Recent Conflict Theory 3.1 Max Weber Due to the weakness of Karl Marxs conflict theory which is too ideal, Max Weber reformulated the conflict theory and thus he is also known as bourgeois Marx (http://www.change.freeuk.com/learning/socthink/weber.html, no date). In the process of formulation, Weber concerned so much with testing, reassessing or developing Marxs ideas and thus, also known as the bourgeois Marx (Marxism: Structural Conflict Theory, no date) . From his study of the society, Weber went beyond ideas of Marx, for example, Weber focuses on the action in the social institution which is not the same as Marx and Durkheim who viewed the society as an object in itself (http://www.change.freeuk.com/learning/socthink/weber.html (no date). Although Weber agreed with Marxs view that class is economic in its origin, stratification in the opinion of Weber, includes also the consideration of status, power and political parties (Marxism: Structural Conflict Theory, no date). Weber (1924) cited in http://www.change.freeuk. com/learning/socthink/weber.html (no date) states that status is social estimation of labours and the development of seen lifestyles. According to Weber, conflict is occurring in any social relationship when an action within it is oriented intentionally to carrying out the actors own will against the resistance of the other party or parties (Henderson and Parsons, 1947). In the society today, communication has becoming an important cause of conflict. As defined in Websters dictionary, communication involves sending giving, or exchanging information and ideas, which is often expressed nonverbally and verbally (Relationship- with -self.com, no date). For non verbal communication, messages are expressed through facial gestures, body languages and the impression through dressing, body imaging and so on. Verbal communication, on the other hand, means expressing what is on ones mind through voicing out. 3.2 Communication: Government and Media The communication between government and media today has become an important focus and struggle in our society. Governments as the standing pillars of a country, plays a vital role in ruling and maintaining a country in a prosperous state. In order to maintain the harmony, fairness and truthfully are the keys to the stability. In other words, government should treat all the society in a same way and fair. Besides that, government may manage the economy in a good way, so the society can live in a wealthy environment. However, the written communication in Malaysia is implying that the status quo and special treatment of the dominant groups, the Malays cannot be questioned. For instance, Malays are better treated by government than other races. On the other view, the media plays an important role in delivering the governments message to the public. Therefore, nowadays, everyone gains current situation on politic, economy and so on through mess media such as television, radio and newspaper. People can know the actual situations or what is currently happen in the society through the news spread by media. However, media is highly dependent on government. The media is in deep dilemma as they want to spread the truth on the other side, while being controlled by government. Intentionally, government possesses power on the media in order to secure the public trust and to build a positive image of themselves for the public. To further elaborate, government restricts and control media not to spread out government scandal and only spread good or something that is benefit for government, The information needed by the media is so scarce. Therefore, media with limited resources to spread for society is required to obey governments laws and orders and since government is the minority that owns the information. Since media is depending on government to provide them information, government has the power to control and restrict what media can spread out to society. From the explanation above, we can see the interplay of conflict between government and media. The government whom possesses the resources is possesses the power as well. The Overlapping Between Early and Recent Conflict Theories The first overlapping is that both of the conflict theories emphasizes on economic factors. In the olden days, labor and capital are competing over resources. In the world today, labor and capital still exist. The terms just are slightly different. Labor in those days is todays employee. For example employees are competing for job advancement and position in an organization or company. The second overlapping between the early conflict and recent conflict theory is on the reason of occurring is due to scarcity. Bs relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires. For example, government got the power over media because government contains the information that media needs to be included in their newspaper, program and so on. Another example in US, many of the candidates are participating in filling the position of a president. But, it is rare. Only one person is entitled, in other words, it is scarce and thus leads to competition. Dependency increases when resources are important, scarce and non-substitutable. The third overlapping between early and recent conflict theory is inequality. For example in US, there is obviously inequality, the discrimination of the Black by the White. The white always been perceived as the dominant party. As defined in Dictionary.com (2010), discrimination is an act of treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. The common discriminations are racial, gender and religious intolerance. Until today where the Black has becoming the president, the Black is still being treated as the lower class despite of the fact the situation is slightly improving. Conclusion In a nutshell, conflict theory is a theory that sees the society as a place with inequality which then leads to evolution and social change. In the early conflict theory, an investigation on social class in the free market economy was conducted. It emphasizes merely on the capitalist and the labor as the cause of inequality, which is too ideal. Therefore it leads to the reassessment of the conflict theory by Max Weber. Max Weber, being the supporter of bureaucracy, highlighted more detailed by stating that there are different types of capitalists and skills of labors are vary as well. From our discussion above, semi-struggle between government and media is unavoidable. In my view, conflicts resulted in positivity because it stresses on competition. In order to survive, people will strive to gain the limited resources which then consequence in the improvement of the society.