Karl Marx's Core Philosophy: Dialectics and Historical Change

Dialectical Materialism: The Foundation of Marxist Thought

Dialectical Materialism (DM) is a materialistic interpretation of reality. It posits that only nature is real and that matter is dynamic, evolving from contradictory changes. The elements of this evolution are produced by three fundamental laws:

1. Law of Unity and Opposition of Opposites
2. Law of the Qualitative Leap (or Quantitative to Qualitative Change)
3. Law of the Negation of the Negation

Dialectical Materialism opposes Hegelian idealism by replacing the spirit with matter. However, it also opposes mechanistic materialism, which views matter as inert.

Historical Materialism: Interpreting Society and History

Historical Materialism (HM) is a dialectical interpretation of history. Society is viewed as the result of the laws of dialectics applied to history. This materialist conception holds that the economic systems of production of goods within a society determine its beliefs, values, and culture.

A) Basic Concepts of Historical Materialism

Relations of Production:

The social relationships people enter into to transform nature and produce goods for their subsistence. This includes the property of the means of production.

Productive Forces:

The elements that act in the production process, including labor force and means of production (tools, technology, raw materials).

Mode of Production:

The combination of the two previous sets—the production relations and productive forces—at a particular historical moment.

Infrastructure and Superstructure:

The infrastructure (economic base) of a society determines its superstructure (legal, political, and cultural institutions). The infrastructure, along with the superstructure, constitutes a social formation, such as the feudal regime or capitalist society.

B) History and Dialectics: The Engine of Change

History progresses dialectically: Thesis leads to Antithesis, which resolves into Synthesis (often referred to as the negation of the negation). Throughout history, contradiction occurs between two antagonistic social classes. Thus, the class struggle becomes the engine of history.

The ruling class uses the superstructure and its dominant ideology to maintain control. This class ideology extends throughout the entire society, often creating a false consciousness among the oppressed.

Marxist Analysis of Historical Modes of Production

Marxist analysis reveals various historical modes of production:

• Communal Form of Property: The basis of primitive societies.
• Ancient Societies: Based on the submission of master to slave.
• Feudal Societies: Based on the submission of lord to servant (serf).
• Capitalist Society: Based on the private ownership of the means of production held by the bourgeoisie and the exploitation of the proletariat.

Critique of the Capitalist Mode of Production

In his seminal work, Capital, Marx sets out the objective mechanisms governing the capitalist mode of production:

1. Capital Investment: The capitalist contributes capital (goods and money) to become the owner of the means of production.
2. Wage Labor: To survive, the worker is obliged to sell their labor force to the capitalist.