Historical materialism

Historical materialism (or what Marx himself called "the materialist conception of history" - materialistischen Geschichtsauffassung) is a social theory and an approach to the study of history and sociology, normally considered as the intellectual basis of Marxism.

Criticisms

The main serious objection advanced by the critics of Marxism and of historical materialism is that as soon as Marxists really begin to study the historical facts, there is either no longer anything distinctively "Marxist" about what they do, or else the facts are twisted to fit with a preconceived dogma.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the worst case, this arguably leads to the totalitarian temptation to try and force the course of history in a particular direction, based on a false belief that one "knows" the way history is moving. The idea here is that the doctrine (or Marxism) really gets in the way of genuinely scientific historical research, and leads to political projects which run roughshod over the morals, interests and beliefs of the people.

Related Topics:
Totalitarian - Marxism - Morals - Interests - Beliefs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In reply, Marxists have pointed to historical analyses by for example Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Leon Trotsky, Isaac Deutscher, Eric Hobsbawm, Christopher Hill, Robin Blackburn, Frank Furedi and Perry Anderson among many others as valid examples of the application of historical materialism to the historical facts. They have also pointed to the social and material progress in many countries which would not have occurred without Marxist movements. In postmodern theory, however, the very notion of historical progress is contested.

Related Topics:
Marx - Engels - Lenin - Rosa Luxemburg - Leon Trotsky - Isaac Deutscher - Eric Hobsbawm - Christopher Hill - Robin Blackburn - Frank Furedi - Perry Anderson - Progress - Postmodern

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Underlying the dispute among historians are the different assumptions made about the definition or concept of "history" and "historiography".

Related Topics:
History - Historiography

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Different historians take a different view of what it is all about, and what the possibilities of historical and social scientific knowledge are.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Historians also differ greatly about questions such as(1) the kinds of generalisations which can be validly made about history, (2) about the kinds of causal connections which can validly be postulated in history, and (3) about the validity of different kinds of explanation of historical development.

Related Topics:
Causal - Explanation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Different theoretical frameworks for historical research also lead to different questions being asked about the historical facts. All historians operate with guiding assumptions in their research - assumptions which may be modified by their results - even although these assumptions (or biases) may not be made explicit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Therefore, probably the best way to assess the merits of historical materialism is to look at the actual results of the historical research done by the Marxists, the semi-Marxists (such as the Annales school) and the non-Marxists who claim to have been inspired by historical materialism.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When this is done, it is clear that historical materialism has been a very fertile and productive research hypothesis. To be sure, it has often been dogmatically interpreted, but it has also stimulated pathbreaking research that put the understanding of history in a new light.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Göran Therborn has argued that the method of historical materialism should be applied to historical materialism as intellectual tradition, and to the history of Marxism itself.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the early 21st century, the main attacks on the materialist interpretation of history come from theorists of sociobiology, creationism and intelligent design. That is, human history is reduced to biological factors, or the hand of God is seen in the course of history.

Related Topics:
Sociobiology - Creationism - Intelligent design - God

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~