|
A.
Teacher
Controls a
valuable social resource (knowledge). |
B.
Student
Wants access to
the resource controlled by the teacher (because knowledge can be translated into
qualifications, etc.). |
| The
potential exists for conflict here, since the teacher has something (knowledge)
that is desired by the student |
| But
this resource only has a value for the teacher if it can be sold. Therefore,
teacher has an economic interest in selling access to the resource they control. |
Similarly,
student cannot simply take knowledge from teacher without the teacher's
co-operation |
| It
is in the teacher's interest to co-operate with the student, to sell their
knowledge to the student in exchange for various social resources (money,
status, power, etc.). |
It
is in the student's interest to co-operate with the teacher. In order to gain
the knowledge that is being sold, student has to agree to a teaching process
determined by the teacher. |
| Therefore,
although this is a situation that contains the potential for conflict (one
participant has something the other wants), it is in the interests of both to
co-operate in the exchange of commodities (knowledge is exchanged for money, for
example). |
| This
is not an equal relationship, however, since the person who controls the valued
social resource (the teacher) has the advantage in this relationship and they
can use this advantage to extract more from the student than they provide in
return. |