Dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a philosophical framework rooted in the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, combining ideas from the dialectical method developed by G.W.F. Hegel with a focus on materialism. At its core, dialectical materialism posits that the material conditions of society, particularly economic factors, are the primary drivers of social and cultural change. This philosophy rejects idealism, emphasizing that reality is shaped by tangible interactions, conflicts, and the ongoing evolution of material circumstances.
The dialectical process involves the interplay of opposing forces, termed thesis and antithesis, leading to a synthesis that represents a new stage of development. This cycle reflects the belief that destruction is often a necessary precursor to creation. Throughout history, Marx argued that societal changes have arisen from material conflicts, such as those between different economic classes, ultimately envisioning a future where communism would resolve these conflicts by fostering equality and shared resources.
Dialectical materialism has significantly influenced various political ideologies and movements, particularly within Marxism, and continues to be a topic of discussion in philosophical and political contexts today. Its insistence on scientific reasoning as the basis for understanding reality further distinguishes it from religious or spiritual interpretations of societal change.
Dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a philosophical system based on the theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It is based on the concept of the dialectic, as proposed by philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, which holds that motion, conflict, destruction, and change are necessary and ceaseless factors in natural and social development. Marx, Engels, and their followers applied this concept to their belief in materialism, or the importance of material things and events, particularly economics. Marx and Engels believed that economic forces were the primary motivators of social and cultural development.
Development of the Concept
The roots of Marx's and Engels's concept of dialectical materialism can be traced back to the theories of the German Enlightenment philosopher G.W.F. Hegel. Hegel devised the idea of the dialectic, a way of perceiving reality and understanding the forces that cause change in individuals and societies. According to Hegel's dialectic, reality consists of constant motion and change. Nothing is permanent or sacred except the understanding that birth and death, start and finish, are necessary for the continued development of nature and reality.
In dialectics, interaction between contrasting people and forces, changes, and conflicts are inevitable and necessary steps in progress. Even destruction is necessary. Hegel believed that everything—including individuals, governments, and cultural movements—contains a contradictory side that will eventually lead to destruction. The process of destruction not only takes away the original thing but also spurs the creation of a new thing. Hegel referred to the parts of the dialectic cycle as the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. Each part has an integral role in the unending process of change, following the formula A (thesis) versus B (antithesis) equals C (synthesis). For example, children are under the authority of their parents (thesis) but separate from this authority by rebelling during the teen and young adult years (antithesis), resulting in the development of independence as an adult (synthesis).
Hegel's dialectics are also based on idealism, a philosophical belief that the mind or spirit is the most important thing and that all material depends on ideas and principles. These ideas and principles are the pressing force that causes reality to exist, nature to progress, and change to occur. Many philosophers and social scientists embraced Hegel's concept of dialectical idealism. Marx and Engels, however, disagreed.
Marx and Engels felt that the concept of dialectics was sound. They agreed that the world was in constant motion and that the process of change was the only real constant. However, they rejected the idealist stance. Marx and Engels believed that people, things, and events in the material world drive all the changes of the dialectic. Their material-focused philosophy, called materialism, stood out in stark contrast to idealism.
For Marx and others, the clearest display of materialism is in economics, the process by which people gain and use money. Marx felt that economics was the most important factor in driving change in the human world throughout history. This includes not only how people work, what people accomplish at work, and how people spend their wages, but also—more importantly—the interactions and conflicts between workers and the business owners who employ them.
Marx, Engels, and other followers of dialectical materialism further developed the philosophy. In its final form, dialectical materialism strongly promotes science and holds that empirical science based on human senses is the best means by which humans can understand reality. In its embrace of science, dialectical materialism generally rejects religion and holds that mental and spiritual forces are products of the material world.
Proponents of dialectical materialism tirelessly promoted the philosophy, and ultimately, it became the fundamental idea behind the thought system known as Marxism. Marx was important in the addition of materialist ideas to dialectics, but ironically it was Engels who most spread these and other Marxist ideals that would powerfully influence the communist movement of the twentieth century.
Application in History
The philosophy of dialectical materialism holds that people, things, and events in the material world most directly cause change. Marx claimed economic factors—such as the human search for money, power, and resources; the technology people have used in their labor; and the interactions and conflicts between workers and their employers—have fueled changes in society, cultures, and values since the beginning of human history.
Even the first humans, Marx believed, were part of the economic and materialistic dynamic. These early people were mostly hunters and gatherers who relied on their own efforts to directly acquire food and needed materials from nature for themselves and their families. Marxists call this system simple communism or primitive communism because the people had to work together and share their resources for survival.
Material factors eventually led the hunter-gatherer system to collapse and another system to take its place. This new system was feudalism, in which poor farmers called serfs worked on the huge estates of powerful lords. This was a dramatic shift from the more communistic style of early humans and it created great tension between the lords and serfs. In dialectical terms, the feudal lords could be considered a thesis and the serfs the antithesis. These are opposite and conflicting forces that at first rely on each other for survival, but will eventually collide to destructive effect. The collision of the lords and serfs led to a synthesis, or a new form. This new form that replaced feudalism was capitalism, an economic system in which many people moved to industrialized cities and took factory jobs. During this era, Marxists posited, the conflict was between workers (called the proletariat) and factory owners (called the bourgeoisie).
Marx felt that conflicts between workers and owners would bring the eventual destruction of capitalism and a new system of communism. Under communism, Marx believed, people would reach a higher state of equality, work together, and share their resources. Marx believed this state was the ultimate goal of humanity and could not be improved upon. People would work together and share as equals, thus removing destructive conflict or the need for revolutions toward better states of living. Thus, upon reaching communism, the dialectical materialist cycle would cease.
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