The recent war with Iraq has been on the minds of people all across the world since well before it started. Many are worried that the United States will be seen as being too controlling, and that it should let the Iraqi people work out their own problems. Others, who are concerned about the threat of terrorist activity in this country and others, stick with the belief that the United States was right in their attempt to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Regardless of which opinion one holds, there are theorists, both classical and modern, who have strong views on war. This is largely due to conflict theory, which is that life is largely characterized more by conflict that it is by consensus. Those who uphold this theory have different ways of looking at it, and the purpose of this paper is to look at classical theorists such as Karl Marx and Max Weber, as well as modern theorists such as Ralph Dahrendorf, and Lewis Coser. The different views they have of conflict theory will then be applied to the war in Iraq, to help show what they believe about conflict and why it is important. I will, however, refute many of their arguments because I am strongly against the war in Iraq and the pain and suffering that it is causing so many people. Once an understanding of conflict theory is established based on how these particular theorists choose to view it, a comparison and contrast of the beliefs that they hold will be discussed as well. This is important in understanding not only conflict theory, but how it applies to real-life situations such as war. Conflict theory can be used in other situations, but war is one of the most obvious and violent ways that countries deal with conflict, and is therefore a good way to discuss the different theories that are related to conflicts between individuals.
             Classical theorists include Karl Marx and Max Weber. Karl Marx is basically the father of conflict theory, and many of the conflict and ot...