Dialectical and Historical Materialism by Joseph Stalin

Highlights

Marxs Dialectical Method is Opposite to Hegels

"My dialectic method," says Marx, "is not only different from the Hegelian, but is its direct opposite. To Hegel, ... the process of thinking which, under the name of 'the Idea,' he even transforms into anindependent subject, is the demiurgos (creator) of the real world, andthe real world is only the external, phenomenal form of 'the Idea.' Withme, on the contrary, the ideal is nothing else than the material worldreflected by the human mind and translated into forms of thought."(Marx, Afterword to the Second German Edition of Volume I ofCapital.) Page 5

• [N] Marx's dialectic inverts Hegel's: for Hegel, the "Idea" creates the real world; for Marx, the material world is primary and reflected by the mind.

tags:: #on/marx #on/dialectics #on/materialism

Nature is a Connected and Determined Whole in Constant Motion and Change

Contrary to metaphysics, dialectics does not regard nature as an accidental agglomeration of things, of phenomena, unconnected with, isolated from, and independent of, each other, but as a connected and integral whole, in which things, phenomena are organically connected with, dependent on, and determined by, each other. Page 7

Contrary to metaphysics, dialectics holds that nature is not a state of rest and immobility, stagnation and immutability, but a state of continuous movement and change, of continuous renewal and development, where something is always arising and developing, and something always disintegrating and dying away. Page 7

dialectics, Engels says, "takes things and their perceptual imagesessentially in their interconnection, in their concatenation, in their movement, in theirrise and disappearance." (Marx and Engels, Vol. XIV,' p. 23.) Page 7

• [N] Dialectics views nature as interconnected, interdependent, and in constant motion, unlike metaphysics.

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Quantitative Changes Lead to Qualitative Changes

Contrary to metaphysics, dialectics does not regard the process of development as a simple process of growth, where quantitative changes do not lead to qualitativechanges, but as a development which passes from insignificant and imperceptible quantitative changes to open' fundamental changes' to qualitative changes; adevelopment in which the qualitative changes occur not gradually, but rapidly andabruptly, taking the form of a leap from one state to another; they occur notaccidentally but as the natural result of an accumulation of imperceptible and gradual quantitative changes. Page 8

Describing dialectical development as a transition from quantitative changes to qualitative changes, Engels says:"In physics ... every change is a passing of quantity into quality, as a result of a quantitative change of some form of movement eitherinherent in a body or imparted to it. For example, the temperature ofwater has at first no effect on its liquid state; but as the temperature of liquid water rises or falls, a moment arrives when this state of cohesion changes and the water is converted in one case into steam and in theother into ice... Page 8

• [N] Development is not just growth, but a series of qualitative changes arising from accumulated quantitative changes.
• [N] Change occurs abruptly as a leap from one state to another due to accumulated quantitative changes.

tags:: #on/dialectics #on/materialism

Contradictions Are Inherent in Nature and Drive Change

Contrary to metaphysics, dialectics holds that internal contradictions are inherent inall things and phenomena of nature, for they all have their negative and positive sides,a past and a future, something dying away and something developing; and that the struggle between these opposites, the struggle between the old and the new, between that which is dying away and that which is being born, between that which isdisappearing and that which is developing, constitutes the internal content of the process of development, the internal content of the transformation of quantitativechanges into qualitative changes. Page 9

"In its proper meaning," Lenin says, "dialectics is the study of the contradiction within the very essence of things." (Lenin, PhilosophicalNotebooks, p. 265.)And further:"Development is the 'struggle' of opposites." (Lenin, Vol. XIII, p. 301.) Page 9

• [N] Dialectics posits that internal contradictions are present in all things, driving change.
• [N] The struggle between opposites is the essence of development and transforms quantitative change into qualitative change.

tags:: #on/dialectics #on/materialism #on/lenin

Social Systems Are Not Immutable, Revolution is Necessary to Transition to Socialism

Further, if the world is in a state of constant movement and development, if the dying away of the old and the upgrowth of the new is a law of development, then it is clearthat there can be no "immutable" social systems, no "eternal principles" of privateproperty and exploitation, no "eternal ideas" of the subjugation of the peasant to thelandlord, of the worker to the capitalist. Page 10

Hence, the capitalist system can be replaced by the socialist system, just as at one time the feudal system was replaced by the capitalist system. Page 10

Hence, the transition from capitalism to socialism and the liberation of the working class from the yoke of capitalism cannot be effected by slow changes, by reforms, butonly by a qualitative change of the capitalist system, by revolution. Page 11

Hence, in order not to err in policy, one must be a revolutionary, not a reformist. Page 11

Hence, in order not to err in policy, one must pursue an uncompromising proletarian class policy, not a reformist policy of harmony of the interests of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, not a compromisers' policy of the "growing" of capitalism intosocialism. Page 11

• [N] No social system is immutable; the old is replaced by the new.
• [N] Capitalism can and will be replaced by socialism through revolution, not reform.
• [N] Policy should be revolutionary, not reformist, and uphold the proletarian class policy.
• [N] An uncompromising proletarian class policy is necessary..

tags:: #on/dialectics #on/materialism #on/revolution #on/socialism #on/capitalism

Marxist Philosophical Materialism - The World is Material and Knowable

Contrary to idealism, which regards the world as the embodiment of an "absolute idea," a "universal spirit," "consciousness," Marx's philosophical materialism holds that the world is by its very nature material, that the multifold phenomena of the world constitute different forms of matter in motion, that interconnection andinterdependence of phenomena as established by the dialectical method, are a law of the development of moving matter, and that the world develops in accordance withthe laws of movement of matter and stands in no need of a "universal spirit." Page 12

"The materialistic outlook on nature," says Engels, "means no more than simply conceiving nature just as it exists, without any foreignadmixture." (Marx and Engels, Vol. XIV, p. 651.) Page 12

Heraclitus, who held that"the world, the all in one, was not created by any god or any man, but was, is and ever will be a living flame, systematically flaring up and systematically dying down"' Page 12

Contrary to idealism, which asserts that only our consciousness really exists, and that the material world, being, nature, exists only in our consciousness' in our sensations,ideas and perceptions, the Marxist philosophical materialism holds that matter, nature,being, is an objective reality existing outside and independent of our consciousness;that matter is primary, since it is the source of sensations, ideas, consciousness, andthat consciousness is secondary, derivative, since it is a reflection of matter, areflection of being; that thought is a product of matter which in its development hasreached a high degree of perfection, namely, of the brain, and the brain is the organ of thought; and that therefore one cannot separate thought from matter withoutcommitting a grave error. Page 12

Engels says:"The question of the relation of thinking to being, the relation of spirit to nature is the paramount question of the whole of philosophy.... Theanswers which the philosophers gave to this question split them into two great camps. Those who asserted the primacy of spirit to nature ...
comprised the camp of idealism. The others, who regarded nature as primary, belong to the various schools of materialism." (Marx, Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 329.) Page 12

Matter is not a product of mind, but mind itself ismerely the highest product of matter." (Ibid., p. 332.) Page 13

Lenin says: "Materialism in general recognizes objectively real being (matter) as independent of consciousness, sensation, experience.... Consciousness is only the reflection of being, at best an approximately true (adequate,perfectly exact) reflection of it." (Lenin, Vol. XIII, pp. 266-67.) Page 13

"The world picture is a picture of how matter moves and of how'matter thinks.'" (Ibid., p. 288.) Page 13

"The brain is the organ of thought." (Ibid., p. 125.) Page 13

Contrary to idealism, which denies the possibility of knowing the world and its laws, which does not believe in the authenticity of our knowledge, does not recognizeobjective truth, and holds that the world is full of "things-in-themselves" that cannever be known to science, Marxist philosophical materialism holds that the worldand its laws are fully knowable, that our knowledge of the laws of nature, tested byexperiment and practice, is authentic knowledge having the validity of objective truth,and that there are no things in the world which are unknowable, but only things whichare as yet not known, but which will be disclosed and made known by the efforts of science and practice. Page 13

• [N] Marxist materialism asserts the world is material, not an embodiment of an idea, with all phenomena as forms of matter in motion, and doesn't need a "universal spirit."
• [N] Matter is primary and exists independently of consciousness; consciousness is a secondary reflection of matter.
• [N] Thought is a product of The Brain, the organ of thought, and cannot be separated from matter.
• [N] The world and its laws are fully knowable, with objective truth achievable through science and practice.
• [N] There are no unknowable things, only things not yet known.

tags:: #on/marx #on/materialism #on/philosophy #on/engels #on/lenin

Social Being Determines Consciousness

Hence, the science of the history of society, despite all the complexity of the phenomena of social life, can become as precise a science as, let us say, biology, and capable of making use of the laws of development of society for practical purposes. Page 15

Further, if nature, being, the material world, is primary, and consciousness, thought, is secondary, derivative; if the material world represents objective reality existing independently of the consciousness of men, while consciousness is a reflection of thisobjective reality, it follows that the material life of society, its being, is also primary,and its spiritual life secondary, derivative, and that the material life of society is an objective reality existing independently of the will of men, while the spiritual life of society is a reflection of this objective reality, a reflection of being. Page 15

"It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness."(Marx Selected Works, Vol. I, p. 269.) Page 15

the party of the proletariat must not base its activities on abstract"principles of human reason", but on the concrete conditions of the material life of society, Page 16

The fall of the utopians, including the Narodniks, anarchists and Socialist-Revolutionaries, was due, among other things to the fact that they did not recognize the primary role which the conditions of the material life of society play in thedevelopment of society, and, sinking to idealism, did not base their practical activitieson the needs of the development of the material life of society, but, independently of and in spite of these needs, on "ideal plans" and "all-embracing projects", divorcedfrom the real life of society. Page 16

New social ideas and theories arise precisely because theyare necessary to society, because it is impossible to carry out the urgent tasks of development of the material life of society without their organizing, mobilizing and transforming action. Page 16

"Theory becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses." (Marx and Engels, Vol. I, p. 406.) Page 17

The strength and vitality of Marxism-Leninism is derived from the fact that it relies upon an advanced theory which correctly reflects the needs of development of thematerial life of society, that it elevates theory to a proper level, and that it deems it itsduty to utilize every ounce of the mobilizing, organizing and transforming power of this theory. Page 17

It is not the consciousness of menthat determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness Page 29

Just as our opinion of an individual is notbased on what he thinks of himself, so can we not judge of such aperiod of transformation by its own consciousness; on the contrary thisconsciousness must be explained rather from the contradictions of material life, from the existing conflict between the social productiveforces and the relations of production Page 29

• [N] Material life (social being) is primary and determines spiritual life (consciousness).
• [N] Social ideas and theories emerge from the needs of material life, not the reverse.
• [N] Practical activities should be based on concrete conditions of material life, not abstract principles.
• [N] Marxism-Leninism's strength lies in its correct reflection of material life, mobilizing and transforming society.

tags:: #on/materialism #on/marx #on/lenin #on/socialism #on/communism

Geographical Environment and Population Growth Are Not the Chief Determinants of Social Development

Geographical environment is unquestionably one of the constant and indispensable conditions of development of society and, of course, influences the development of society, accelerates or retards its development. But its influence is not the determining influence, inasmuch as the changes and development of society proceed at an incomparably faster rate than the changes and development of geographical environment Page 18

If growth of population were the determining force of social development, then a higher density of population would be bound to give rise to a correspondingly highertype of social system. But we do not find this to be the case Page 19

• [N] Geographical environment influences, but does not determine, social development.
• [N] Population growth is not the primary determinant of social systems.

tags:: #on/materialism #on/historicalmaterialism

The Mode of Production is the Chief Determinant of Social Development

This force, historical materialism holds, is the method of procuring the means of lifenecessary for human existence, the mode of production of material values – food, clothing, footwear, houses, fuel, instruments of production, etc. – which areindispensable for the life and development of society. Page 19

The instruments of production wherewith material values are produced, the people who operate the instruments of production and carry on the production of materialvalues thanks to a certain production experience and labor skill – all these elementsjointly constitute the productive forces of society. Page 19

another aspect of the mode of production, is therelation of men to each other in the process of production, men's relations ofproduction. Men carry on a struggle against nature and utilize nature for the production of material values not in isolation from each other, not as separateindividuals, but in common, in groups, in societies. Production, therefore, is at all times and under all conditions social production. Page 20

"In production," Marx says, "men not only act on nature but also on one another. They produce only by co-operating in a certain way and mutually exchanging their activities. In order to produce, they enterinto definite connections and relations with one another and only within these social connections and relations does their action onnature, does production, take place." (Marx and Engels, Vol. V, p. 429.) Page 20

• [N] The mode of production is the method of procuring life necessities, comprising productive forces and relations of production.
• [N] Productive forces include instruments and people with production skills; production is always social.
• [N] Relations of production refer to how people relate to each other during the production process.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/marx

Production is Always Changing and Develops Through Changes in Productive Forces

The first feature of production is that it never stays at one point for a long time and is always in a state of change and development, and that, furthermore, changes in themode of production inevitably call forth changes in the whole social system, socialideas, political views and political institutions – they call forth a reconstruction of the whole social and political order. Page 20

Hence, the clue to the study of the laws of history of society must not be sought in men's minds, in the views and ideas of society, but in the mode of productionpracticed by society in any given historical period; it must be sought in the economiclife of society. Page 21

The second feature of production is that its changes and development always beginwith changes and development of the productive forces, and in the first place, withchanges and development of the instruments of production. Page 21

First theproductive forces of society change and develop, and then, depending on these changes and in conformity with them, men's relations of production, their economic relations, change. Page 21

• [N] Production is always changing and changes in production lead to changes in the whole social order.
• [N] The study of history should focus on the mode of production, not ideas.
• [N] Changes in production begin with changes in the productive forces, especially instruments of production.
• [N] Relations of production change in accordance with the changes in productive forces.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism

Contradictions Between Productive Forces and Relations of Production Lead to Social Revolution

An instance in which the relations of production do not correspond to the character of the productive forces, conflict with them, is the economic crises in capitalistcountries, where private capitalist ownership of the means of production is in glaring incongruity with the social character of the process of production, with the character of the productive forces. This results in economic crises, which lead to the destructionof productive forces. Furthermore, this incongruity itself constitutes the economicbasis of social revolution, the purpose of which IS to destroy the existing relations ofproduction and to create new relations of production corresponding to the character of the productive forces. Page 22

In conformity with the change and development of the productive forces of society in the course of history, men's relations of production, their economic relations also changed and developed. Page 23

• [N] Contradictions between productive forces and relations of production, like in capitalist crises, drive social revolution.
• [N] The goal of social revolution is to establish new relations of production that match the changed productive forces.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/capitalism #on/revolution

Types of Relations of Production

Five main types of relations of production are known to history: primitive communal, slave, feudal, capitalist and socialist. Page 23

The basis of the relations of production under the primitive communal system is that the means of production are socially owned Page 23

The basis of the relations of production under the slave system is that the slave-ownerowns the means of production, he also owns the worker in production – the slave, whom he can sell, purchase, or kill as though he were an animal. Page 23

The basis of the relations of production under the feudal system is that the feudal lordowns the means of production and does not fully own the worker in production – theserf, whom the feudal lord can no longer kill, but whom he can buy and sell.Alongside of feudal ownership there exists individual ownership by the peasant andthe handicraftsman of his implements of production and his private enterprise basedon his personal labor. Page 24

The basis of the relations of production under the capitalist system is that thecapitalist owns the means of production, but not the workers in production – the wage laborers, whom the capitalist can neither kill nor sell because they are personally free,but who are deprived of means of production and) in order not to die of hunger, are obliged to sell their labor power to the capitalist and to bear the yoke of exploitation. Page 24

The basis of the relations of production under the socialist system, which so far has been established only in the U.S.S.R., is the social ownership of the means ofproduction. Here there are no longer exploiters and exploited. The goods produced aredistributed according to labor performed, on the principle: "He who does not work,neither shall he eat." Here the mutual relations of people in the process of productionare marked by comradely cooperation and the socialist mutual assistance of workerswho are free from exploitation. Here the relations of production fully correspond tothe state of productive forces; for the social character of the process of production isreinforced by the social ownership of the means of production. Page 25

• [N] Five main types: primitive communal, slave, feudal, capitalist, and socialist.
• [N] Primitive Communal: social ownership of means of production.
• [N] Slave: owner owns both means of production and workers (slaves).
• [N] Feudal: lords own means of production and serfs, who can be bought/sold.
• [N] Capitalist: capitalists own means of production, workers are "free" wage laborers, but exploited.
• [N] Socialist: social ownership of means of production, no exploitation, and distribution based on labor.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/communism #on/capitalism #on/socialism

The Importance of Instruments of Labor and Class Struggle

It is not the articles made, but how they aremade that enables us to distinguish different economical epochs.Instruments of labor not only supply a standard of the degree of development to which human labor has attained, but they are alsoindicators of the social conditions under which that labor is carried on."(Marx, Capital, Vol. I, 1935, p. 121.) Page 26

allhistory has been a history of class struggles, of struggles between exploited and exploiting, between dominated and dominating classes atvarious stages of social development; ... this struggle, however, hasnow reached a stage where the exploited and oppressed class (the proletariat) can no longer emancipate itself from the class whichexploits and oppresses it (the bourgeoisie), without at the same time for ever freeing the whole of society from exploitation, oppression andclass struggles...." (Engels' Preface to the German Edition of the Manifesto.) Page 27

• [N] The means of production distinguish economic epochs and indicate social conditions of labor.
• [N] History is a history of class struggles, where the proletariat's emancipation leads to the end of all exploitation.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/marx #on/classstruggle #on/engels

The Rise of New Productive Forces Within the Old System

The third feature of production is that the rise of new productive forces and of the relations of production corresponding to them does not take place separately from theold system, after the disappearance of the old system, but within the old system; ittakes place not as a result of the deliberate and conscious activity of man, butspontaneously, unconsciously, independently of the will of man Page 27

Firstly, because men are not free to choose one mode of production or another, because as every new generation enters life it finds productive forces and relations ofproduction already existing as the result of the work of former generations Page 27

Secondly, because, when improving one instrument of production or another, one clement of the productive forces or another, men do not realize, do not understand or stop to reflect what social results these improvements will lead to, but only think oftheir everyday interests, of lightening their labor and of securing some direct andtangible advantage for themselves. Page 27

Out of the conflict between the new productive forces and the oldrelations of production, out of the new economic demands of society, there arise new social ideas; the new ideas organize and mobilize the masses; the masses become welded into a new political army, create a new revolutionary power, and make use of it to abolish by force the old system of relations of production, and to firmly establishthe new system. The spontaneous process of development yields place to theconscious actions of men, peaceful development to violent upheaval, evolution torevolution. Page 28

• [N] New productive forces arise within the old system, not after it disappears, and this is not a deliberate process.
• [N] People are not free to choose a mode of production, and improvements are driven by immediate needs, not social effects.
• [N] Conflict between new forces and old relations leads to social ideas, mobilization, and revolution, shifting from spontaneous to conscious action.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/revolution

The Proletariat Will Use Political Supremacy to Centralize Production

"The proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest, by degrees,all capital from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production in the hands of the State, i.e., of the proletariat organized asthe ruling class; and to increase the total of productive forces as rapidlyas possible." (Ibid., p. 50 ) Page 29

• [N] The proletariat will use its political power to centralize production under state control and rapidly increase productive forces.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/proletariat #on/revolution #on/marx

Tasks Arise When Material Conditions for Their Solution Exist

Therefore mankind always sets itself only suchtasks as it can solve; since looking at the matter more closely, it will always be found that the task itself arises only when the material conditions for its solution already exist or are at least in the process offormation." (Marx, Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 269-70.) Page 30

• [N] Mankind sets itself only solvable tasks, and tasks arise when material conditions for their solution exist.

tags:: #on/historicalmaterialism #on/marx

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