SOCIOLOGY OF CONFLICT THEORY 31 The moderrv state was primarily achieved by the "intervention of capital" a steady stream of wealth that poured into the royal treasuries. The wealth included loot and profits; profits first from commerce and later from industry. The monarchs with their full coffers became independent of the feudal lords. They began to recruit administrators from the new middle class, the merchants and the lawyers. In contrast to the old feudal aristrocracy this new class represented the loyal officialdom. The kings were also able to support their national army. With this the stage was set for the development of full-fledged bourgeois states in Europe. The growth of national states also required freedom from dominance of a single church. The conflict theorists of this period contribute actively in this direction. Each of the three conflict theorists, Machiavelli^ Bodin and Hobbes will be taken up for consideration in a chronological order. The variation in their thinking is a reflection of the changing need of national social structures. The similarity is a result of their living in the same historical period. Almost as important is their own position in society, which gives a likely clue to the level of the development of one's class consciousness and class alignment. Brute Force Combined with Intrigue Niocolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) an Italian statesman was the first conflict theoritician. It is important to remember that Italian merchants dominated European economic life from the tenth to the fifteenth century. Their wealth originated from the crusades and direct plunder. Wealth and glamour of the Italian cities soon attracted foreign powers. For nearly twenty years Italy was oppressed by forei gn domination and was distracted by wars of aliens fought on its soil. Machiavelli showed a high sensitivity to this situation in his country. At the same time other developments did not escape his notice: the decay of medieval society, the ecclesiastical authority giving place to the secular, the violent struggles for national unity and the fierce competition among commercial bourgeoisies of different cities, particularly with the Dutch merchants. Conflict therefore becomes a central concept in Machiavelli's thought. The birth pangs of capitalism were felt violently during his time. The intensity of it made it appear as universal and a permanent condition of society, and the very essence of human nature. This emphasis on conflict runs against both the classical and medieval viewpoints. Machiavelli saw conflict mainifesting itself perennially between the common people and the "great powerful". He believed that lust for power and domination is the primary cause both of internal strife and interstate wars. He feared corruption would become rampant in an overly successful state and saw only one way out: create conditions of security and well-being by channelizing man's acquisitiveness through the state. His final judgment was that "a good government rests upon the