Description:The author, Lewis Coser, attempts to offer an appraisal and an update on the theories of social conflict articulated by Georg Simmel, the nineteenth century German sociologist and philosopher. This book was first published in 1956, so it's helpful to keep in mind the tenor of the times in which it was written. It does pay relatively little attention to actual social conflicts between groups, but from a theoretical perspective, it sheds light on the dynamics that engender social conflict.