- 08 Mar 2009 11:04
#1827318
By By FallenRaptor
Now that dialectical materialism is understood, we can apply it to all disciplines of science. The discipline which Marx and Engels spent most of their lives studying and writing about was social science. They applied dialectical materialism to the study of society and it's historical development and created what is known as 'Historical Materialism'.
Historical materialism begins with the proposition that the mode of production and all other economic relations form the basis of society and it's structure. Social change and development are thus primarily caused by change and development of economic relations and structures, which are in turn primarily caused by the development of productives forces(ie. introduction of new technology) and changes in the relations of production(ie. results of class struggle). Using this method, Marx and Engels extensively studied the laws and tendencies of the capitalist mode of production to make their infamous 'predictions' on the demise of capitalism, the rise of the working class' hegemony, and ultimately the emancipation of all humanity.
However, it is very important to not vulgarize the role of economics. As Engels once said, "if somebody twists this into saying that the economic element is the only determining one, he transforms that proposition into a meaningless, abstract, senseless phrase." While the economy is of primary importance, it is only the 'infrastructure' of society. On it, political(forms of class struggle, the state, laws, administration, political parties, etc.) and ideological(culture, political views, morals, traditions, religion, etc.) 'superstructures' are built. In practice, all of the 'structures' are relatively autonomous and have a degree of effectivity on each other. External factors such as the weather, geography, and international relations also have a degree of influence on the social structures.
As Marx noted, "men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please". While human practice(in the forms of economics, politics, and ideology) is the agency of history, the many relations of the many individuals that take place within the pre-existing conditions & structures of society cause the historical process to result in something that no single person willed. Some people may be more influential than others, but there is no 'great man of history'.
It now becomes evident that many interpretations of historical materialism such as economism, determinism, fatalism, etc. are false. The 'stagist theory' most people associate historical materialism with(tribalism - slavery - feudalism - capitalism) can only apply to the concrete history of Europe. To apply this same 'theory' to Asia, Africa, or the Americas becomes an absurdity. In these cases, new & concrete analyses must be made. There are no iron laws of history that determine everything that is going to happen regardless of any variable factors either. Communism is not inevitable(to my knowledge, Marx never explicitly said it was), and by the first world war many Marxist such as Rosa Luxemburg claimed that the future of human society has two options: "Socialism or Barbarism".
Comments...
Now that dialectical materialism is understood, we can apply it to all disciplines of science. The discipline which Marx and Engels spent most of their lives studying and writing about was social science. They applied dialectical materialism to the study of society and it's historical development and created what is known as 'Historical Materialism'.
Historical materialism begins with the proposition that the mode of production and all other economic relations form the basis of society and it's structure. Social change and development are thus primarily caused by change and development of economic relations and structures, which are in turn primarily caused by the development of productives forces(ie. introduction of new technology) and changes in the relations of production(ie. results of class struggle). Using this method, Marx and Engels extensively studied the laws and tendencies of the capitalist mode of production to make their infamous 'predictions' on the demise of capitalism, the rise of the working class' hegemony, and ultimately the emancipation of all humanity.
However, it is very important to not vulgarize the role of economics. As Engels once said, "if somebody twists this into saying that the economic element is the only determining one, he transforms that proposition into a meaningless, abstract, senseless phrase." While the economy is of primary importance, it is only the 'infrastructure' of society. On it, political(forms of class struggle, the state, laws, administration, political parties, etc.) and ideological(culture, political views, morals, traditions, religion, etc.) 'superstructures' are built. In practice, all of the 'structures' are relatively autonomous and have a degree of effectivity on each other. External factors such as the weather, geography, and international relations also have a degree of influence on the social structures.
As Marx noted, "men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please". While human practice(in the forms of economics, politics, and ideology) is the agency of history, the many relations of the many individuals that take place within the pre-existing conditions & structures of society cause the historical process to result in something that no single person willed. Some people may be more influential than others, but there is no 'great man of history'.
It now becomes evident that many interpretations of historical materialism such as economism, determinism, fatalism, etc. are false. The 'stagist theory' most people associate historical materialism with(tribalism - slavery - feudalism - capitalism) can only apply to the concrete history of Europe. To apply this same 'theory' to Asia, Africa, or the Americas becomes an absurdity. In these cases, new & concrete analyses must be made. There are no iron laws of history that determine everything that is going to happen regardless of any variable factors either. Communism is not inevitable(to my knowledge, Marx never explicitly said it was), and by the first world war many Marxist such as Rosa Luxemburg claimed that the future of human society has two options: "Socialism or Barbarism".
Comments...
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