Marxist Historical Materialism: Society, Production, and Change

Historical Materialism: Marxist Theory of Society

Historical Materialism is the Marxist theory of history, a materialist philosophy that interprets societal development.

Hegel vs. Marx: The Driving Force of History

For Hegel, the dialectical unfolding of history is driven by the Idea; for Marx, it is driven by Matter.

Marx's Materialism: The Common Person as Hero

Marx's materialism asserts that the common person is the hero of history, based on these fundamental claims:

• The Relationship Between Humanity and Nature & Other People: These constitute material relations. People utilize natural resources to produce material goods to satisfy their needs. Marx termed this the social production of life.
• Ideology's Origin: These material relations give rise to ideology.

This is a dialectical and historical materialism, which does not deny intelligence, but rather affirms that the production, distribution, and exchange of goods (which satisfy human needs) are the roots of what people have or desire.

Historical Materialism: A Scientific Theory of Society

Historical Materialism is a scientific theory concerning the formation and development of society. It posits that the basis of all social order is production, and from this, it explains all of history:

• Production: The activity of creating material goods necessary for life.
• Factors of Production:
  • Work Process: The activity by which an object is transformed into a useful product. This involves raw materials, means of labor, and workforce.
  • Social Relations of Production: The relationships established between the owners of the means of production and the workers. These are often conflicting and antagonistic relationships (e.g., exploiter-exploited).
• Infrastructure: The material basis of society that determines its structure, development, and social change.
• Superstructure: All elements of social life dependent on the infrastructure. This includes religion, morality, science, and the set of ideas, beliefs, institutions, and norms that shape social consciousness.
• Modes of Production: The specific ways material goods are produced in different societies, such as primitive, slave, feudal, capitalist, and socialist.

Superstructural Elements: Ideology and Society

• Social: Society gives rise to two main classes: the proletariat, who actually produce goods, and the capitalist class, who appropriate them. Objective: To eliminate all classes.
• Political: Given the division of classes, the state is also divided: a political class that commands and another that obeys. Objective: To eliminate all forms of states and create a global society.
• Religious: The evasion of reality into a transcendent world. Marx rejected all religions and denied transcendence, famously stating that God does not exist and religion is the opium of the people.