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The Conflict Perspective 325

experiences in life, and we all rely on them to make adjustments to what we confront in activity theory the view that satis-
life. This applies to people of all ages beyond infancy. This theory is really a collection of faction during old age is related to
loosely connected ideas, with no specific application to the elderly. a person’s amount and quality of
activity
In Sum: The broader perspective of the functionalists is how society’s parts work to-
gether to keep society running smoothly. If younger workers had to fight to take over continuity theory a theory focus-
ing on how people adjust to retire-
the jobs of the elderly, it would be disruptive to society. To make this a smooth transi-
ment by continuing aspects of their
tion, the elderly are offered pensions, which entice them to leave their positions. Func-
earlier lives
tionalists also use a narrower perspective, focusing on how individuals adjust to their
retirement. The findings of this narrower perspective are too mixed to be of much
value—except that people who have better resources and are active in multiple roles
adjust better to old age (Thomas 2012).
Because U.S. workers do not have to retire by any certain age, it is also important to
study how people decide to keep working or to retire in the first place. After they retire,
how do they reconstruct their identities and come to terms with their changed lives? As
the United States grows even grayer, this should prove a productive area of sociological
theory and research.

The Conflict Perspective

10.10 Explain the conflict
As you know, the conflict perspective’s guiding principle is how social groups compete perspective on Social Security
with one another to control power and resources. How does this apply to society’s age and discuss intergenerational
groups? Regardless of whether the young and old recognize it, say conflict theorists, competition and conflict.
they are opponents in a struggle that threatens to throw society into turmoil. Let’s look
at how the passage of Social Security legislation fits the conflict view.

In old age, as in all other stages of the life course, people find life more pleasant if they have friends and enough money to meet their needs. How
do you think the elderly man to the left finds life? How about the elderly men in the photo to the right? While neither welcomes old age, you can see
what a difference social factors make in how people experience this time of life.