Not intended to explain any particular association, but is meant to be widely applicable to a very large number of diverse associations. Like a living thing, society has needs that must be met if it is to be healthy and survive. The explanation of the various components of society or the way people act is given by linking those to the fulfillment of societal needs.
All resources are in limited supply.
Groups and individuals compete for control over these resources. Society's organization, institutions, norms, the way people behave is an outcome of this competition. The most elementary act is the act of production. Materialism contains elements of structural-functionalism and conflict. Maring Warfare 3.