Historical Materalism

Historical Materalism

1. Intellectual Basis Of Marism

   • Key Idea - Technological advances in the modes of production lead to changes in the social relations of production
   • A methodological approach to the study of society, economics & history.
     • Analysis of the causes of developments and changes in human society by how humans collectively produce the necessities of life.
   • Assumption: In order for human beings to survive and continue existence, it is necessary for them to produce and reproduce the material requirements of life
     • To occur people must enter into social relations (production relations)
       • Division of labour
       • Owners of capital.
       • Determines type of society
         • Society has moved through different modes of production.
           • Character of the production relations is determined by the character of the productive forces
             • From Primitive communism to capitalism.
               • Production relations are the economic base.
               • Superstructure forms. The political/ideological superstructure of society
                 • How people organise society is determined by the economic base and the relations that arise from its mode of production.

2. How society is organised. Base & Superstructure

   • Key Idea - The economic base supports the ideological superstructure
     • Super Structure: culture, religion, politics and all other aspects of humanity's social consciousness
       • Changes in in economic, technological, material factors, clashes of material interests are examined for cause.
     • CRITIQUE - oversimplification of the nature of society
       • Influence of ideas & culture are just as important as the economic base. Marx's Superstructure.
         • If the superstructure has no influence why does Marx expose it at length?
           • Engels said Marx never pertained this. The production and reproduction of real life is the determinant of history not purely an economic determinism.
         • If superstructure influences the base it can't be argued that the history of society is based on class conflict.
           • Chicken & egg arguement
             • Singer - Marx saw the economic base as real.
               • Humanity's defining characteristic are its means of production and thus the only way for man to free himself from oppression is for him to take control of the means of production.
                 • Goal of history.
                 • Superstructure acts as tools of history
             • Popper - The concept of Marx's historical method & its application are unfalsifiable.
               • Earlier work was proven falsifiable when the predictions did not occur.
                 • Reinterpreted the theory & evidence by later Marxists.
                   • Destroys scientific claim.

3. Society has moved through different modes of production.

4. Assumptions

   • The basis of human society is how humans work on nature to produce the means of subsistence.
   • There is a division of labour into social classes (relations of production) based on property ownership where some people live from the labour of others.
   • The system of class division is dependent on the mode of production
   • The mode of production is based on the level of the productive forces
   • Society moves from stage to stage when the dominant class is displaced by a new emerging class
     • Takes place in the superstructure of society. Revolution.

5. Materialist Conception of History

   • History is made as a result of struggle between different social classes rooted in the underlying economic base.
     • Historical determinism - events are predestined
   • Marx was only roposing a guideline to historical research
     • Not a grand philosophy of history

6. Importance.

   • Revolution in human thought, and a break from previous ways of understanding the underlying basis of change within various human societies
     • CRITIQUE: human history is simply a series of accidents. (Weber)

7. Influences

   • Doctoral research on the philosophy of Epicurus
   • Adam Smith
   • Popular philosophy of his time that development of human society has moved through a series of stages