Theory of Historical Materialism

Materialism is the basis of his sociological thought because for Marx material conditions or
economic factors affect the structure and development of society. His theory is that material
conditions essentially comprise technological means of production and human society is
formed by the forces and relations of production.

Marx’s theory of historical materialism is historical. It is historical because Marx has traced
the evolution of human societies from one stage to another. It is called Materialistic because
Marx has interpreted the evolution of societies in terms of their material or economic bases.
Materialism simply means that it is matter or material reality, which is the basis for any
change.

The clearest exposition of the theory of historical materialism is contained in Marx’s

‘preface’ to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859). Here he says that the
actual basis of society is its economic structure. For Marx, economic structure of society is
made of its relations of production. The legal and political super structure of society is based
on relations of production. Marx says that relations of production reflect the stage of society’s
forces of production.

Marx’s theory of Historical Materialism states that all objects, whether living or inanimate
are subject to continuous change. The rate of this change is determined by the laws of
dialectics. Marx says that new developments of productive forces of society came in conflict
with existing relations of production.

When people become conscious of the state of conflict, they wish to bring an end to it. This
period of history is called by Marx the Period of Social Revolution. The revolution brings
about resolution of conflict. It means that new forces of production take roots and give rise to
new relations of production.

Thus we can see that for Marx it is the growth of new productive forces which outlines the
course of human history. The productive forces are the powers society uses to produce
material conditions of life. So for Marx, human history is an account of development and
consequences of new forces of material production. This is the reason why his view of history
is given the name of Historical Materialism.
The terms mentioned in Marx’s theory of Historical materialism:
1. Social relations, over and above individuals:
Marx says that as a general principle, the production of material requirements of life,
which is a very basic necessity of all societies; compel individuals to enter into definite
social relations that are independent of their will. This is the basic idea of Marx’s theory of
society. He stresses that there are social relations which impinge upon individuals
irrespective of their preferences. He further elaborates that an understanding of the historical
process depends on our awareness of these objective social relations.

2. Infrastructure and Super-structure:

According to Marx, every society has its infrastructure and superstructure. Social relations
are defined in terms of material conditions which he called infrastructure. The economic base
of a society forms its infrastructure. Any changes in material conditions also imply
corresponding changes in social relations. Forces and relations of production came in the
category of infrastructure. Within the superstructure figure the legal, educational and political
institutions as well as values, cultural ways of thinking, religion, ideologies and philosophies.

3. Forces and relations of production:

The forces/means of production encompass the various methods and elements involved in the
production of material goods. They encompass technological knowledge, equipment, tools,
machinery, labor, and the level of technology employed. In essence, the forces of production
include the means of production and labor power. The development of machinery, changes in
the labor process, the utilization of new energy sources, and the education of workers are all
part of these forces. Science and related skills can also be seen as integral components of the
productive forces.

The relations of production are the social relationships that men enter into in order to
produce goods. For eg: owner class and working class.

Modes of Production-
According to Marx, history evolves through the interaction between the mode of production
and the relations of production. The mode of production constantly evolves toward a
realization of its fullest productive capacity, but this evolution creates antagonisms between
the classes of people defined by the relations of production—owners and workers.

Dialectical Materialism

Dialectic asserts that contradiction is the essence of all things in both natural and social
world The word 'dialectics' has been derived from the Greek word 'dialego. Dialectics among
the Greek intellectuals was the method of arriving at truth by exposing the contradictions in
the arguments of the opponent. This method was in due course extended to the study of
nature. It was perfected by the great German thinker Hegel. Hegel taught that everything
developed by a clash of opposites. According to him evolution proceeds according to a
system of three stages thesis, antithesis and synthesis, every condition develops its
negation and the interaction of the two begets a new situation. The new situation soon
develops its antithesis and the struggle continues, In this way development takes place
through thesis, antithesis and synthesis For Hegel the form in which a thing appears is not yet
its true form. What one sees at first is a negative condition, only a temporary or partial truth
and not the true potential of a thing.

Marx was very much impressed by this method and the utility of this tool in the scientific
study of the world of nature and social reality. But Marx only borrowed the approach and the
tool or method of understanding social phenomena. The direction in which he used the tool
was not only different but also the direct opposite to that of Hegel. Hegel was an idealist who
asserted the primacy of mind whereas Marx was a materialist who asserted the primacy of
matter.

Dialectics assumes that every phenomenon contains elements of contradiction which make
for motion and change. So within every phenomenon there is a struggle between what is and
what is striving to be born, between being and becoming Each be therefore contains seeds of
its own decay and they ripen into the opposing order of its antithesis, the counter movement
which asserts those aspects denied by the former. But the antithesis also a development of
what was implicit in the thesis. Thus in every society two distinct and opposite forces thesis
and antithesis work and follow each other until a solution is found in the form of a new order
synthesis (These opposite forces- according to Marx are two distinct classes who are engaged
in a continuous struggle with each other The clash between old relations of production and
new forces of production is the clash between thesis and antithesis until a solution is found in
the form of a new stage of society with a new mode of production.

Marx elaborates his theory through the following stages

Asiatic mode of Production:

The concept of Asiatic mode of production refers to a specific original mode of production.
This is distinct from the ancient slave mode of production or the feudal mode of production.
It is characterised by primitive communities in which ownership of land is communal. These
communities are still partly organised on the basis of kinship relations. Resources were low
and there was low population.

Gradually towards the end of primitive communism there were certain group of people who
were physically strong and so towards its end the concept of private property came into
being. So primitive communism could not survive and there emerged a different type of
society.

2. Ancient mode of Production:

According to Marx, every part of history has its end point. So primitive communism was to
go and slavery came into being. People who had physical, political and material strength had
authority over others. So two classes were found and this is where the concept of private
property emerged. There were two classes—the owning class, they are the masters, and non-
owning class, they were the slaves.

Marx has tried to suggest that in course of time different people grabbed certain plots of land
as a result of which there was grabbing and as a result of which a large number were left
wretched. So they had to depend on these owners in order to make a living and it went on
rising and so when they would not pay their debts they were sold and engaged under the so
called masters.

Slaves were mere chattels. They had no right and were used like commodities and they could
be bought and sold. So individuals were slaves and it went on resulting in a family of slaves
and masters were masters. So it became very heinous of people worked without any voice,
even if the torture was unbearable. Slaves were made to work under stringent physical
conditions. They were engaged in agricultural, menial and physical labour.

If the society has experienced heinous system at any point of time, it is slavery. So it was to
go and another stage was to come. So, towards its end, a sort of internal struggle was found
so that the slaves, peasants started a revolution against the masters so as to release certain
slaves from the clutches of the masters. Slavery is called the stage of initial agriculture.

So agricultural capitalism was to come. Agricultural innovations would take place.

Technology was applied to agriculture. People started to understand the dignity of labour and
the stage came, i.e. Feudalism or Agricultural capitalism.

3. Feudal Mode of Production:

At this stage as Marx said throughout the pages of history we find two classes. They were
feudal lords and serfs. Lords owned the land in their favour and their job was to lease land
and employ agricultural labour in their lands. The owners who were leased had to pay certain
taxes and the labourers were given wages.

This is even a heinous system and the lords exploited by not paying the labour its due. So
Marx said that this stage was also exploitative in character. Heavy taxes were imposed on
serfs. This stage could not grow much as industries were growing and people sought their job
in industries and in cities. So the serfs fought against the lords. With the spreading of
industries, urbanization grew, so emphasis was on industries and came the next stage, i.e.
Industrial capitalism.

4. Capitalistic mode of production:

Marx was very much bothered about this stage because this represented the most heinous and
migration was found from rural to urban areas. Those who worked in agricultural lands
shifted to industries. There were two classes— the working classes, the proletariats and the
bourgeoisie.

Marx wanted to champion the cause of proletariat and he wanted that the exploitative
character must go and equality be established. So Marx was Futuristic. Socialism is the stage
where the society is classless and it is based on the principle of equality. Marx had
experienced socialism and there was spread of socialism based on his ideas.

Communism is the ultimate final stage where there is prevalence of equality among all.
Everybody works according to his capacity and gets according to his due, when capitalism
goes and communism comes into being there are some elements found in some form or other
of capitalism in socialism.

As per Marx, socialism is the initial communism and communism is the later socialism
because everybody is equal and can stand in the same queue and communist society is
thoroughly equal and no concept of private property ownership.
 Theory of Alienation

Alienation is a condition in which man is dominated by the forces of his own creation Bring
which confront him as alien powers. In his work entitled "Das Kapital' Marx examines his
concept of alienated labour. Alienation refers to the process of the growing dehumanization
of man under the capitalist industrial conditions Only by forfeiting more and more of his
creative human faculties does the worker contribute to the growth of the organization. There
are four aspects of alienation

a. From Products of own Labour.

The first aspect of alienated labour is the separation of the worker from the products of the
worker's labour. These products are produced in conditions over which the worker has no
control. In capitalism, production is for exchange and the market, to be sold to others, and the
worker does not control the fate of what is being produced The worker actually puts his or
her life into the object (biological reality – the very life of the worker is put into the object),
but in this process the worker deprives him or her self of the means of existence. That is,
there is a separation of the objects from the worker.

Commodities produced by labour are taken away from the worker and sold, and labour itself
becomes a commodity. This produces wealth for the capitalist, but poverty for the worker.
This alienation produces riches and power for some but enslaves and deprives the worker.

b. From the Process of Production or from Work Itself.

The worker does not fulfil himself in his work but denies himself, has a feeling of
misery rather than well-being, does not develop freely his mental and physical
energies but is physically exhausted and mentally debased. The worker, therefore,
feels himself at home only during his leisure time, whereas at work he feels homeless.
His work is not voluntary but imposed, forced labour. It is not the satisfaction of a
need, but only a means for satisfying other needs. Work at a job becomes only a
means of earning enough money to buy food and other necessities. Instead of work
being an exercise of human creativity, workers feel free only in their animal functions
 (eating, sleeping, etc.) and not in their human function (creative work). The
potentially creative nature of human labour, that which distinguishes humans from
non-human animals, is denied to workers.

c. From Species-Being or from Humanity and Human Potential-

Alienation is from the worker's own human potential. Individuals perform and act less
and less like human beings, and more and more like machines.

d. From Other Persons.

Humans are also alienated from other human beings. Human relations become
reduced to market relationships. Marx argues that the relationships of exchange are
social relationships, but appear to become only money relationships. This is a critique
of political economy and a critique of capitalist market relationships.

A direct consequence of the alienation of man from the product of his labour, from his life
activity and from his species-life, is that man is alienated from other men. ... man is alienated
from his species-life means that each man is alienated from others, and that each of the others
is likewise alienated from human life.
 Theory of Class Struggle or Class Conflict

His theory rests on the premise that the’ History of all ‘hitherto existing society is the
history of class struggle’. He develops his theory of class struggle in his analysis and
critique of the capitalist society. The main ingredients of his theory may be sunmarized as
follows:

Development of the proletariat - Marx first distinguishes the proletariat as a 'class itself, an
aggregate of individuals who are in the same economic situation but are not aware of their
common class situation and then tries to show how it becomes a class for itself i.e how the
members become aware of their common interests. The capitalist economic system
transformed the masses of people into workers created for them a common economic
situation and inculcated in them an awareness of common interest.

Importance of property-To Marx the most distinguishing characteristic of any society is its
form of property. Property divisions are the crucial breaking lines in the class structure.
Conflict over the distribution of economic rewards strengthens the class barriers.

Identification of economic and political power -By virtue of economic power constitutes
the infrastructure the capitalists derive political power/which in Marx phraseology is called
superstructure. Political power becomes the means by which the ruling class perpetuates its
domination-and exploitation of the masses. The entire political processes and institutions
including( the courts, the police, the military and the ruli elites serve the interests of the
capitalists.

Polarisation of classes- Inherent in capitalist society is a tendency towards radical

polarization of classes. In addition to the two classes of capitalists and proletariat, the uot
exists another class to whom Marx refers as the petite bourgeoisie. But at the height of class
conflict the petite bourgeoisies and the small capitalists are deprived of their property and
drawn into the ranks of the proletariat.

Theory of surplus value -Capitalism according to Marx is a system of commodity

production. Labour power is itself a commodity which is bought and sold in the market.
Human labour power involves the expenditure of physical energy which must be replenished.
To renew the energy expended in labour the worker must be provided with the requirements
of his existence i.e food, shelter and clothing. Value of the worker's labour power = labour
time socially necessary to produce the necessities of life. However in actuality the worker
produces much more than what is required to cover the cost of his subsistence. Say he needs
to work only for 5 hours to produce the value of his labour power. Whatever he produces
over and above this is surplus value. This surplus value is the source of profit for the
employer and the source of exploitation of the employee. Marx argued that capital produces
nothing only labour produces wealth. Yet the wages paid to the workers are well below the
value of goods they produce. The difference between the value of wages and commodities is
known as surplus value and this is appropriated in the form of profit by the capitalists.

Pauperisation - Poverty of the proletariat grows with increasing exploitation of the labour.
Capitalists who constitute a minority enjoy leisure and luxury. On the other hand there is a
corresponding increase in the 'mass of poverty, of pressure, of slavery, of exploitation of the
proletariat. Thus to Marx poverty is the result of exploitation and not of scarcity.

Alienation- The economic exploitation and inhuman working conditions lead to increasing
alienation AMOKAR of men. Alienation may be described as a condition in which men are
dominated by forces of their own creation which confront them as alien powers. Alienation
has a four fold aspect. Man is alienated from the object he produces, from the process of
production, from himself and from the community of fellows.

Class solidarity -Marx argues that when the proletariat becomes a class for itself, its
members develop class consciousness and class solidarity, They(develop a common identity
recognize their shared interests and unite so producing class solidarity. The final stage of
class consciousness is reached when members realize that only by collective action çan they
overthrow the ruling class and when they take positive steps to do so. Periodic crises like
depression etc play an important role in fostering revolutionary consciousness because they
make evident the common class situation of the proletariat.

Revolution - The relative poverty of the working class, the physical misery of the reserve
army and rapid decline in wages all provide a growing reservoir of revolutionary potential
and lead to the eventual destruction of the capitalist system. (The misery of the working class
would really be intolerable when most of the petty bourgeoisies would merge with the
working class. Eventually this vast working class would rise up, cast of its chains and seize
control of the forces of production leading to a dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat – This revolution terminates the capitalist society and leads
to social dictatorship of the proletariat.

Classless society - The ideal society according to the Marxian view is one without a state, for
once the gains of the revolutionary order have been secured, the means of production are
controlled by the people, the classes will automatically vanish and the state will gradually
wither away However Marx does sound a note of caution. That this society will lead to free
development of all is not at all inevitable according to Marx. Everything will depend on what
men do with the socialized resources. If they do not utilize these resources to further their
human needs then it will be a case of substituting one form of subjugation with another) Marx
foresaw this danger and warned against reifying society and setting it up against the
individual. Ashe said what is to be avoided is the re establishment of society. The individual
is the social being. The needs and freedom of the individual remain paramount in Marx ideal.