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It might be that being in conflict is structural to the relation between X and
Y; they are competitors, they must beat each other, X's goal is to prevail over
Y, for example.
When conflict is an end and no longer a means, or when a conflict is due to
nonrenounceable and nonnegotiable values, no resolution or exit is possible.
1.9
In Praise of Conflicts
Prejudice:
We have a conflict with conflicts
! We harbor an attitude or feeling of
avoidance toward conflict.
For many people, the ideal psychological and social condition would be the
absence of conflicts. This is a strange perception and conception.
Actually, conflicts are a fundamental “motor” or “leaven” of
individual
and
social
growth. This has been clear since Coser's sociological theory of conflicts but does
not affect our common sense. Conflicts are not necessarily a cause or a sign of
instability, and they have several crucial functions, such as, for example, stimulating
innovation and social change, reinforcing the unity and identity of a group against
other groups, reinforcing a central authority, and clarifying diverge positions (Coser
1956
).
Let us consider some cases and aspects of conflicts.
1.9.1
The Functions of Conflicts
Why do we need not only competition (both individually and societally) but some
sort of (explicit) conflict and fighting?
We are even biologically and psychologically designed for conflicts; fighting
(and beating, harming, or humiliating somebody) excites and motivates us, indi-
vidually and collectively. So-called sports fill that role; but competition in politics,
the arts (e.g., festivals), and beauty attract and excite people.
We should strive to avoid wars but not conflicts, competition, or even fights.
Since we need to be better than (some) others (in the same domain or commu-
nity), we are automatically in conflict over that.
1.9.1.1
Social (r)evolution
Conflicts are the engine of change and possibly of progress, at both the indi-
vidual level (e.g., adolescents' or females' emancipation conflicts against parents
or traditional costumes), and the collective level (e.g., new rights, better work
conditions, social welfare, and greater equality are due to social conflicts, possibly
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