Historical Materialism: A Marxist Theory of History

Posted on Aug 29, 2024 in Social sciences

The Materialist Theory of History (Historical Materialism)

Historical materialism, according to Marx, is a materialist conception of history. It is the science or scientific theory of historical process. Marx’s materialism affirms that humans are the protagonists of history.

Historical materialism is based on two fundamental ideas:

  1. The Relationship Between Humans and Nature: Humans establish material relationships with nature and other humans. They extract resources from nature (e.g., mining, fishing) and produce and exchange material goods to satisfy their material needs (food, clothing, shelter). Marx called this the social production of life.
  2. Social Being Determines Consciousness: These material relationships ultimately give rise to the ideology and legal-political structure of the state. In other words, it is the man’s social being that determines their consciousness.

The essence of materialism is the claim that the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods are the root of human mentality, governance, and laws. In this conception, matter refers to the “system of production of material goods” or “the economic relations of production.”

This materialistic conception stands in opposition to idealism, which posits that human relationships with nature and other humans are primarily ideological, political, or cultural, without considering the material relations that fulfill basic needs. Idealism is thus an idealistic way of interpreting reality.

The historical process is not driven by spirit or ideas, as in Hegel, but by the economic relations of production. These relations are fundamental and empirical, which is why Marxist materialism claims to be scientific. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political, and spiritual development (not as man thinks, but he thinks as he is, how you live). Historical materialism, according to Marx, is a scientific theory about the formation and development of society, arguing that all societal development stems from the economic accounts, from the production of material goods.

Fundamental Concepts of Historical Materialism

The fundamental concepts of historical materialism, the Marxist theory of history, are:

  1. Production:

    Production is the activity in which people create material goods to live. It is the basis of all social order, as it explains the story. And the same man, basically, productive work, be productive.

  2. Factors of Production:

    The factors involved in production are:
  1. Process of Work:
    The process by which an object is transformed into a useful product. It consists of:
    1. The object on which you work, the raw material or raw, the first is the substance that has been modified either at work, the second is the substance that comes directly from nature, one that does nothing but work release it.
    2. The means of work, the set of tools, such as hammer, saw, etc.. In a broad sense includes all media and material conditions without intervening directly in the transformation process, are indispensable for the realization of it.
    3. The work force, or human energy used in the work process, be it physical or mental energy.
  2. Productive Forces:
    The result or combination of two factors, labor (human energy) and the means for workers to do the job, e.g., The result of combining the manpower of a chainsaw, concrete, etc..
  3. Social Relations of Production:
    These are the relationships established between the owners of the means of production and workers. These relationships are:
    1. Conflict: exploiter-exploited. They are operating because the worker sells his labor to the price and conditions established by the owner of the means of production.
    2. Antagonistic because some defend the ownership of the means of production as private and others defend the media as a collective.

  4. Economic Infrastructure:

    The economic structure is called the set of relations of production and the level of development reached by the productive forces. The economic system is called the global economic process of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption, including also (together with the relations of production), these materials (plants, tools, technical).

  5. Superstructure:

    This is a set of ideas, beliefs, institutions, policies … that shape the social conscience. They are:
    1. Legal-political: institutions and norms that regulate social relations as a whole, e.g. parliament, justice system, civil code, etc..
    2. Ideology: a set of ideas, beliefs, customs … that shape the consciousness of individuals. These sets are represented in religious doctrines, philosophical … Ideology is a product of the human mind. Later we will see the role of the two elements of the superstructure, the justification and defense of the capitalist system.

  6. Modes of Production:

    This is the way material goods are produced according to the different companies:
    1. Primitive: collective ownership of property. Primitive communism. There is no private property.
    2. Slaver: dominance and submission slave, property of the master instrument.