Coser, Lewis

Lewis Coser (1913–2003) has made many contributions to the field of sociology. He is primarily a conflict theorist, distinctive from most in two respects. First, he describes social conflict as a result of factors other than, simply, opposing group interests. Second, he is concerned with the consequences of conflict. Émile Durkheim's influence on Coser's conflict theory is also quite evident, as Coser repeatedly discusses the functional aspects of conflict and the functional aspects of society.

Born in Berlin, to a Jewish family of bankers, Coser was involved with the socialist student movement, a social protest group that was not met with tolerance by the emerging presence of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. Coser left [Page 156]Germany in 1933 and moved to Paris, where he attended the Sorbonne (University of Paris). At the Sorbonne, the study of social theory was almost entirely limited to the works of Émile Durkheim, or as Coser (1993) referred to it, the “Durkheimian magic circle.” Coser was also exposed to the ideas of Karl Marx and came to describe himself as an “unorthodox Marxist with strong admixtures of Durkheimian thought.” After escaping from internment in France as an enemy alien, Coser fled to the United States. In 1954, Coser received his PhD from Columbia, having completed his dissertation under the guidance of Robert Merton. His socialist writings have always reflected his concern with politics and the links between ideas and the nature of society. In 1954, Coser cofounded, with Irving Howe, the magazine Dissent, during the height of the McCarthy “Red Scare.” It was their hope to alert people, especially intellectual spokespersons, to this irrational form of behavior and intolerance, namely a commitment to communism. His academic writings include his first book, The Functions of Social Conflict (1956), Men of Ideas: A Sociologist's View (1965), Continuities in the Study of Social Conflict (1967), Greedy Institutions: Patterns of Undivided Commitment (1974), and Masters of Sociological Thought (1977).

Coser's work reflects the conflict perspective and his underlying concern with protecting human freedoms from oppressive power groups. It is obvious that Coser's life experiences played a significant role in his outlook of social life. He learned firsthand of direct social conflict and the negative effects that dominant groups can have on subordinate groups. Among the academic influences on Coser were Émile Durkheim, Georg Simmel, Karl Marx, Robert Merton, Talcott Parsons, and his wife, Rose Laub Coser. Coser died July 8, 2003, at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The contributions from this “Man of Ideas” will leave a permanent mark in sociology.

In The Functions of Social Conflict (1956), Coser defines and relates conflict to the social world, explores the nature of hostility, discusses how conflict can lead to social change, and pays close attention to the role of people's emotions. Coser defines conflict as a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate their rivals. He defines power as the chance to influence the behavior of others in accord with one's own wishes. The level of group power is always relative to other external groups. Agreeing with Simmel that there are aggressive or hostile impulses in people, Coser believes that constant contact in relationships can create conflict and instability within the group structure. The nature of hostility and conflict varies for sociological reasons, including social structural factors that include financial stability, clearly defined societal roles, love and nurture from the family, and practical and emotional support from outside the nuclear family. Coser's work is an attempt to explain how structural factors interact with people's underlying emotions. Coser came to realize that conflict serves many functions. Conflict often leads to social change; it can stimulate innovation; and during times of external (war) or internal (civil unrest) threat, it leads to an increase in the centralization of power.

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