<P> Gumplowicz, in Grundriss der Soziologie (Outlines of Sociology, 1884), describes how civilization has been shaped by conflict between cultures and ethnic groups . Gumplowicz theorized that large complex human societies evolved from the war and conquest . The winner of a war would enslave the losers; eventually a complex caste system develops . Horowitz says that Gumplowicz understood conflict in all its forms: "class conflict, race conflict and ethnic conflict", and calls him one of the fathers of Conflict Theory . </P> <P> What happened in India, Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome may sometime happen in modern Europe . European civilization may perish, over flooded by barbaric tribes . But if any one believes that we are safe from such catastrophes he is perhaps yielding to an all too optimistic delusion . There are no barbaric tribes in our neighbourhood to be sure--but let no one be deceived, their instincts lie latent in the populace of European states . </P> <P> Ward directly attacked and attempted to systematically refute the elite business class's laissez - faire philosophy as espoused by the hugely popular social philosopher Herbert Spencer . Ward's Dynamic Sociology (1883) was an extended thesis on how to reduce conflict and competition in society and thus optimize human progress . At the most basic level Ward saw human nature itself to be deeply conflicted between self - aggrandizement and altruism, between emotion and intellect, and between male and female . These conflicts would be then reflected in society and Ward assumed there had been a "perpetual and vigorous struggle" among various "social forces" that shaped civilization . Ward was more optimistic than Marx and Gumplowicz and believed that it was possible to build on and reform present social structures with the help of sociological analysis . </P> <P> Durkheim (1858--1917) saw society as a functioning organism . Functionalism concerns "the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system," The chief form of social conflict that Durkheim addressed was crime . Durkheim saw crime as "a factor in public health, an integral part of all healthy societies ." The collective conscience defines certain acts as "criminal ." Crime thus plays a role in the evolution of morality and law: "(it) implies not only that the way remains open to necessary changes but that in certain cases it directly prepares these changes ." </P>

Who is called as the advocate of 'conflict theory'