We explain what the concepts of structure and superstructure are, what their general characteristics are and their definition within historical materialism.
What are the structure and superstructure?
In Marxist theory, structure and superstructure are concepts that mark the link that occurs at the origin of socioeconomic formations between the production relations of society and the result of that production.
The base or structure, on the one hand, is the economic and material basis of society.. The structure is determined by the relations of production, and is opposed to the superstructure.
The superstructure, for its part, is the name given to the set of legal-political institutions. (the State, law, religion, philosophy, ideology, morality and art) and the forms of consciousness (religious, artistic and philosophical) typical of the modes of production. These institutions and forms of consciousness are conditioned by these modes of production.
These concepts were developed by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) in The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (1867). Marx and Engels thought that the economic structure of a society, which they called the “economic base,” was the driving force that determined the nature and character of the superstructure. These ideas have become fundamental concepts in Marxist theory and have been the subject of analysis and debate by Marxist theorists and other social thinkers.
According to Marxist theory, which is the theory of historical materialism, the superstructure depends on the structure as a real economic basis. This is the reason why it is constituted as the ideology of the dominant class in the mode of production that generates it. This has caused several controversies regarding whether or not the economic base completely determines the superstructure, or, for example, to what extent certain changes in the superstructure can condition changes in the economic structure.
Key points
- The structure is the economic and material basis of society. It is determined by the relations of production.
- The superstructure is the set of institutions and the forms of consciousness specific to the modes of production.
- Structure and superstructure have a dialectical relationship. For example, the superstructure depends on the structure as the real economic basis.
General characteristics of the structure and superstructure
For Marxist theory, and according to historical materialism, the structure (or base) and superstructure can be characterized by a series of general elements that are constantly maintained.
General characteristics of the structure:
- It refers to the economic base of society.
- It is composed of the productive forces (machines, tools and technology, among others) and the social relations of production (the relations between people who work in the production and distribution of goods and services).
- It determines the material conditions and social relations of a society.
- It is the base on which the superstructure is built.
General characteristics of the superstructure:
- It refers to all cultural and political institutions, norms, values, beliefs and practices that arise from the economic base of society.
- It includes religion, education, law, art, politics, philosophy and the media, among others.
- It serves to justify and perpetuate the domination of one class over another in a given society.
- It is shaped by the economic base of society and changes as social relations and productive forces change.
Thus, while structure refers to the economic base of society, superstructure refers to the cultural and political institutions and practices that arise from it. Both are interrelated, and the superstructure serves to maintain the structure and domination of one class over another.
Structure and superstructure as categories of historical materialism
For historical materialism, the concepts of structure (or base) and superstructure form a pair that highlights the link that occurs in specific socioeconomic formations between the relations of production and their result. Production is not “production in general” but rather a specific way of producing which is called “mode of production”.
In addition to the mode of production, there is what is called “productive forces.” The productive forces are the relationships that man establishes with nature as a technological activity.that is, it involves the use of a technique. As these forces occur in community with other men, they occur in a series of “relations of production.” The result of the relations of production depends on the superstructure.
The superstructure is composed of the forms of consciousness (philosophy, science, art and religion), the institutions and the ideologies. Forms of consciousness appear when reference is made to the modes of conscious appropriation of reality and institutions appear linked to that form of conscious appropriation of reality. Ideologies, for their part, appear when class struggles are reproduced.
The productive forces They represent the links that manifest phenomenally in technological institutions and in labor praxis. The production relations represent the links that manifest themselves as “forms of property” and the superstructure It represents what is presented as different “forms of social consciousness”, the ideologies and institutions linked to them.
The structure, for its part, is directly related to the relations of production and indirectly to the productive forces.. If production relations refer to the social links established between people and their productive forces, the structure (or base) is used only in relation to the superstructure. The base or structure refers to the production relations when they are linked to the result of production, that is, to the superstructure.
These concepts, structure and superstructure, They expressly serve as concepts that explain social change at the level of socioeconomic formations.that is, at the level of specific modes of production. Changes in the productive forces modify the relations of production and the old superstructure is replaced by other superstructural elements that do maintain an adequacy with the structure and, through the structure, with the productive forces.
References
- Marx, K., Engels, F., & Miguel, A.H. (1971). Manifesto of the Communist Party (Brochure No. 5041). Editions in foreign languages.
- Marx, C. (2023). The Capital. Volume I. RUTH.
- Godelier, M. (1967). System, structure and contradiction in Marx's Capital. Critical Thinking, 11, 62-98.
