11002. CONFLICT THEORY AND THE CARGO CULTS OF MELANESIA. Following a brief background discussion of conflict theory (a perspective, derived from Marxism, which views competition as the main force driving social change), this paper analyzes the customs related to the "cargo cult" religion of the Melanesian Islanders in terms of Conflict Theory. The paper argues that there are three simultaneous levels of conflict in the cargo cults: a) the conflict of the colonialist and the colonized; b) the conflict between the magician or prophet (superior Western knowledge) and the indigenous peoples; and c) the conflict between natural and supernatural-- between the mundane events of daily life in Melanesian society and the intervening force of supernatural events. KEYWORDS: Melansian Islands solomon fiji religion colonialism conflict sociology 5 pages, 10 footnotes, 5 bibliographic sources. 1,441 words.