Historical Materialism

We explain what historical materialism is, who its creators were, how they understand history and the modes of production they find in it.

What is historical materialism?

Historical materialism is a theory of analysis proposed by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) to understand human history from the point of view of the social class struggle for control of the means of production.

This theory provides a view of history and society from a materialist perspective, that is, focusing on the material conditions of human existence, such as production and relations between social classes. Furthermore, it opposes the traditional bourgeois interpretation, which understands history as the history of ideas and “great men.”

From the Marxist point of view, history is the history of “class struggle.” In this sense, revolutions are explained by the conflict between two or more social classes that try to take over the means of production and thus establish an economic system in accordance with their desires and needs.

For Marx and Engels, the contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of production (or, more simply, between those who do the work and those who administer the economy) is the driving force of history: it is what has driven change since ancient times. in our societies.

Origin of the term: The term historical materialism It was not used by Marx, but was later coined by the Russian Marxist theorist Georgy Plekhanov (1856-1918) and used by Engels after the death of Marx himself.

• See also: Marxism

Stages of humanity according to historical materialism

For Marx and Engels, different stages can be recognized in human history according to the predominant modes of production in each period:

• Primitive communism. It was about the subsistence economy of small hunter-gatherer communities during the Paleolithic period. It was an economy in which everything obtained was shared and that did not allow the accumulation of goods. Since there was no individual property, social classes did not exist.
• Slave mode of production. The slave mode of production, born with the discovery of agriculture, was typical of ancient civilizations, which sustained their food production with slave labor. In this model, the privileged social classes enjoyed free time and dedicated it to military training, the development of arts and culture.
• Feudal mode of production. This system was typical of the European Middle Ages, and made land ownership the most important economic factor. He distinguished between landed aristocrats and serfs. These cultivated the lands of the feudal lords in exchange for protection, justice and social stability.
• Capitalist mode of production. This system was born with the Industrial Revolution, in which a large part of the peasantry was transformed into the working class. The bourgeoisie, owner of large capital and factories, became the exploiting class and benefits from workers' labor.

• It may help you: Ages of history

Historical materialism and scientific communism

Historical materialism is a theory that made its contribution to the Marxist aspiration for scientific communism. Marx and Engels sought to create a political doctrine that was based on a rational, explainable and verifiable conceptual apparatus, that is, on a materialist conception of history.

In this sense, they maintained that the struggle of the working class should be guided to achieve socialism and then communism, as the following stages in the history of humanity:

• Socialism. Capitalism would create the conditions for its own improvement. The struggle of the working class would lead to the seizure of power and the creation of socialism, as a transition between capitalism and communism. In socialism, the means of production would become collective property and the State would fulfill the role of organizing production in order to satisfy the needs of society as a whole.
• Communism. Communism would be a classless society, without private property and without the State, where each individual would contribute according to their abilities and receive according to their needs.

• You may be interested in: Differences between socialism and communism

Contributions of historical materialism

Although this concept is strongly linked to Marxist thought, has been extremely useful in the theoretical elaboration of the study of history even by academics and thinkers not affiliated with Marxism.

This theoretical framework is important because it has a critical approach to history and is based on the material relations of production. In addition, it provides tools to analyze the structures and productive forces that shape the relationships that characterize a society.

On the other hand, historical materialism allows identify the repetition of certain patterns throughout history and understand certain trends that exist in the long term.

Criticisms of historical materialism

The materialist conception of history is criticized for basing economic determinism, that is, reduce history to material relationships between people and denying the influence of other areas of human experience, such as culture and ideas.

Furthermore, he has been criticized for simplify the history of humanity. Its categories of analysis are not applicable in many societies and it is considered that reducing social relations to the struggle between two classes defined by their economic position detracts from other important issues.

On the other hand, it discusses the little attention to the agency of individuals. This responds to the fact that historical materialism focuses its analysis on social structures and minimizes the ability of individuals to influence the future of their societies.

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References

• Sheldon, G.W. (2001). Historical Materialism. Encyclopedia of Political Thought. Facts on File.
• Stearns, P. N. (1993). Class. Encyclopedia of Social History. Garland.
• Wilczynski, J. (1981). Historical Materialism. An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Marxism, Socialism and Communism. Macmillan Reference Books.