In high school, we were taught that there are four kinds of dynamic tension in a story: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. machine and man vs. himself. Our libraries are full of tales that fit neatly into these categories. The nature of man versus the ideas of man fits as well, but is perhaps the most censored, repressed, politically volatile concept of our day.
You can find pearls of wisdom in the unlikeliest places.