1. All social systems show inequality in resource allocation, which leads to conflicts. Conflict will lead to the redistribution of resources, resulting in new inequality, which will lead to new conflicts and redistribution of resources;

2. Social structure is divided into two basic types: open and rigid, and there are significant differences in attitudes and consequences of conflicts;

3. Conflict can promote the improvement of social power relations, the establishment of new social norms and the improvement of social system adaptability, and prevent the serious division and disintegration of the whole society.

One of the theories of modern western sociology is contrary to structural functionalism. Popular in western Europe and the United States after the 1950s, this paper focuses on the nature and root causes of social conflicts, types of conflicts, prevention and its role in social life. Western scholars have no unified definition, expression and classification of conflict.

One view is that conflicts can be divided into cultural conflicts, economic conflicts and distribution conflicts; Another view divides conflicts into realistic and unrealistic ones. The former regards conflict as the most effective way to achieve their own goals, while the latter regards conflict as a way to eliminate tension or prove people's sympathy.

After the mid-1940s, structural functionalism, represented by T. Parsons, emphasized the role of the common value orientation of social members in maintaining social integration and stabilizing social order, regarded conflicts as "morbid" in a healthy society, and tried to find a mechanism to eliminate conflicts.