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Dialectical and Historical Materialism (Russian : О диалектическом и историческом материализме), by Joseph Stalin, is a central text within the Soviet Union's political theory Marxism–Leninism.
The work first appeared as a chapter in the Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which drew heavily from the philosophical works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin. [1] It describes the Bolshevik Party's official doctrine on dialectical materialism and historical materialism.
This chapter was written by Stalin's secretaries under his personal guidance during his consolidation of power in the party through the purging of party members, and implementing structural changes by introducing a new constitution in 1936. [2] Following these measures, Stalin decided to develop a new history of the Bolshevik Party corresponding to the Moscow Trials narrative in order to further consolidate and legitimize his regime. [3] While the other chapters of a Short History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were written by a committee under the guidance of Stalin, Anton Donoso argues that it was imperative that Stalin himself write the chapter on dialectical and historical materialism, for "it would have been the most dangerous portion of the history to have been entrusted to a subordinate." [4]
Stalin's contributions to Marxist philosophy prior to this chapter were scant. His previous notable works were Anarchism or Socialism? in 1906/7, as well as his more popular Marxism and the National Question , also known as The National Question and Social Democracy in 1913. [5] After Lenin's death, Stalin also delivered lectures on Leninism in 1924, which were then developed into the work Foundations of Leninism. [6]
In 1929 Stalin was first concerned with the interpretation of dialectical materialism, when, according to Donoso, he complained in a speech that theoreticians "had not kept pace with the practical developments of Marxism in the Soviet Union," and "accused philosophers in general of dragging their feet in the battle on the two fronts against Rightist and Leftist deviation." [7] In 1931, Stalin was successful in having the Central Committee condemn differing interpretations of Marxist philosophy, marking a decisive turning point in Soviet philosophy and thus abolishing any opposition to the official party line. [8] Additionally, included in the 1936 constitution was a criticism of philosophy as being out of date, abstract, and too "polluted" with quotations from "deviationists," such as Trotsky. [9]
Stalin's writing is systematically presented and divided into three parts: [10]
a) Nature is a unified whole.
b) Nature is in perpetual motion.
c) Natural quantitative change leads to qualitative change.
d) Natural phenomena possess internal contradictions as part of their struggle, leading to revolutionary rather than reformist change. He relates this to capitalism by stating that "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, but only by a qualitative change of the capitalist system, by revolution". [10]
a) The world is materialistic in nature.
b) Being is objective reality because it is material, thus thinking is a reflection of matter, contributing ideas back to being.
c) The world and its laws are knowable as they can be examined by practice, challenging Kant's idea of "things in themselves." Because of this, Stalin argues that there are laws of social development and that socialism is a science.
a) In this section he asks, what is the "Chief Determinant Force" in society? It is the mode of production of material goods, not the geographical environment or the growth of the population. As he states, "this force, historical materialism holds, is the method of procuring the means of life necessary for human existence, the mode of production of material values – food, clothing, footwear, houses, fuel, instruments of production, etc. – which are indispensable for the life and development of society." He also names two aspects of production, which are the instruments of production and "the relation of men to each other in the process of production, men's relations of production." [10]
b) The first feature of production: "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 the mode of production inevitably call forth changes in the whole social system, social ideas, political views and political institutions – they call forth a reconstruction of the whole social and political order." Thus, the party of the proletariat must study the laws of the development of production so that it can "proceed primarily from the laws of development of production from the laws of economic development of society." [10]
c) In the second feature of production, Stalin states that "its changes and development always begin with changes and development of the productive forces, and in the first place, with changes and development of the instruments of production" and lays out the stages of history, which are primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and socialism. Additionally, the capitalist relations of production no longer correspond to the state of productive forces of society, creating irreconcilable contradictions. [10]
d) The third feature of production: "the rise of new productive forces and of the relations of production corresponding to them does not take place separately from the old system, after the disappearance of the old system, but within the old system; it takes place not as a result of the deliberate and conscious activity of man, but spontaneously, unconsciously, independently of the will of man." However, this spontaneous process of development does not mean that the change from old relations to new relations will occur smoothly. Rather, Stalin contends, it will result in revolution. [10]
After it was published, it was praised in the Soviet Union for raising dialectical materialism to "new and higher levels" and considered "one of the pinnacles of Marxist-Leninist thought." [4] It was also praised for its clarity and accessibility, and was referred to as "the first accurate and doctrinally reliable work in this field." [3] Stalin's reputation also grew, as he was viewed as a leader and a philosopher. [11] However, he was more so praised for the fact that he wrote anything at all on dialectical and historical materialism, since prior to this work there was not a complete account on these philosophical concepts. [12]
While some believe that Stalin did not add any original thought to the concepts of dialectical or historical materialism, Donoso had argued that Stalin contributed some innovation, departing significantly from original Marxist views. [13] These three instances are his "greater emphasis he places on the 'retroactive' influence of the superstructure," thus emphasizing the importance of the party, his "elaboration of the developmental laws in a socialistic classless society," and the "great stress he placed on the 'national' factor." [13] However, E. Van Ree disputes this, claiming that they were copied or influenced by Georgi Plekhanov. [14] It has also been noted that Stalin did not include a previous law of dialectical materialism, the "negation of the negation" and that he reformulated the law of qualitative to quantitative change. [15]
According to Marxist philosopher Helena Sheehan, the book was presented as clear and concise for the masses but had a "highly stultifying effect on philosophical creativity". [16] She elaborated that the philosophical legacy of Stalin is almost universally rated negatively with most Soviet sources considering his influence to have negatively impacted the creative development of Soviet philosophy. [17] Sheehan discussed omissions in his views on dialectics and noted that most Soviet philosophers rejected his characterization of Hegel's philosophy. [18]
Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishment of communism. Lenin's ideological contributions to the Marxist ideology relate to his theories on the party, imperialism, the state, and revolution. The function of the Leninist vanguard party is to provide the working classes with the political consciousness and revolutionary leadership necessary to depose capitalism.
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist governments throughout the 20th century. It was developed in Russia by Joseph Stalin and drew on elements of Bolshevism, Leninism, Marxism, and the works of Karl Kautsky. It was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, Soviet satellite states in the Eastern Bloc, and various countries in the Non-Aligned Movement and Third World during the Cold War, as well as the Communist International after Bolshevization.
Bolshevism is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, focused on overthrowing the existing capitalist state system, seizing power and establishing the "dictatorship of the proletariat".
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and social transformation. Marxism originates with the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, and as a result, there is no single, definitive "Marxist theory". Marxism has had a profound effect in shaping the modern world, with various left-wing and far-left political movements taking inspiration from it in varying local contexts.
Scientific communism, is one of three major elements of Marxism. The communist literature defines it as "the science dealing with general socio-political laws and patterns, ways, forms and methods of changing society" along communist lines, according to the historical mission of the proletariat ; in other words, it is the science regarding the "working-class" struggle and the social revolution, about the supposed "laws behind the building of socialism and communism, and about the world revolutionary process as a whole." In a broader sense, "scientific communism" can mean Marxism–Leninism as a whole; the "scientific expression of the radical interests and objectives involved in the struggle of the working class." In other words, it was the Marxist-Leninist school of sociology.
Abram Moiseyevich Deborin (Ioffe) was a Soviet Marxist philosopher and academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union (1929). Deborin oscillated between The Bolshevik and Menshevik factions of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, before settling with the Bolsheviks and enjoying a long career as a philosopher in the Soviet Union. Although this career suffered under Stalin, he lived to see his works republished when the Soviet Union was led by Nikita Khrushchev.
Philosophy in the Soviet Union was officially confined to Marxist–Leninist thinking, which theoretically was the basis of objective and ultimate philosophical truth. During the 1920s and 1930s, other tendencies of Russian thought were repressed. Joseph Stalin enacted a decree in 1931 identifying dialectical materialism with Marxism–Leninism, making it the official philosophy which would be enforced in all communist states and, through the Comintern, in most communist parties. Following the traditional use in the Second International, opponents would be labeled as "revisionists".
Before the perestroika Soviet era reforms of Gorbachev that promoted a more liberal form of socialism, the formal ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was Marxism–Leninism, a form of socialism consisting of a centralised command economy with a vanguardist one-party state that aimed to realize the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Soviet Union's ideological commitment to achieving communism included the national communist development of socialism in one country and peaceful coexistence with capitalist countries while engaging in anti-imperialism to defend the international proletariat, combat the predominant prevailing global system of capitalism and promote the goals of Russian Communism. The state ideology of the Soviet Union—and thus Marxism–Leninism—derived and developed from the theories, policies, and political praxis of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin.
Marxism is a method of socioeconomic analysis that originates in the works of 19th century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism analyzes and critiques the development of class society and especially of capitalism as well as the role of class struggles in systemic, economic, social and political change. It frames capitalism through a paradigm of exploitation and analyzes class relations and social conflict using a materialist interpretation of historical development – materialist in the sense that the politics and ideas of an epoch are determined by the way in which material production is carried on.
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary, philosopher and Marxist theorist. Known as the "father of Russian Marxism", Plekhanov was a highly influential figure among Russian radicals, including Vladimir Lenin.
Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided societies that struggle against each other, and economic constraints in determining historical outcomes. Marxist historians follow the tenets of the development of class-divided societies, especially modern capitalist ones.
Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Western Marxism, which drew from various sources, and the official philosophy in the Soviet Union, which enforced a rigid reading of what Marx called dialectical materialism, in particular during the 1930s. Marxist philosophy is not a strictly defined sub-field of philosophy, because the diverse influence of Marxist theory has extended into fields as varied as aesthetics, ethics, ontology, epistemology, social philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of history. The key characteristics of Marxism in philosophy are its materialism and its commitment to political practice as the end goal of all thought. The theory is also about the struggles of the proletariat and their reprimand of the bourgeoisie.
György Lukács was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary historian, literary critic, and aesthetician. He was one of the founders of Western Marxism, an interpretive tradition that departed from the Soviet Marxist ideological orthodoxy. He developed the theory of reification, and contributed to Marxist theory with developments of Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. He was also a philosopher of Leninism. He ideologically developed and organised Lenin's pragmatic revolutionary practices into the formal philosophy of vanguard-party revolution.
Orthodox Marxism is the body of Marxist thought which emerged after the deaths of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the late 19th century, expressed in its primary form by Karl Kautsky. Kautsky's views of Marxism dominated the European Marxist movement for two decades, and orthodox Marxism was the official philosophy of the majority of the socialist movement as represented in the Second International until the First World War in 1914, whose outbreak caused Kautsky's influence to wane and brought to prominence the orthodoxy of Vladimir Lenin. Orthodox Marxism aimed to simplify, codify and systematize Marxist method and theory by clarifying perceived ambiguities and contradictions in classical Marxism. It overlaps significantly with instrumental Marxism.
Chinese Marxist philosophy is the philosophy of dialectical materialism that was introduced into China in the early 1900s and continues in Chinese academia to the current day.
Dialectical materialism is a materialist theory based upon the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that has found widespread applications in a variety of philosophical disciplines ranging from philosophy of history to philosophy of science. As a materialist philosophy, Marxist dialectics emphasizes the importance of real-world conditions and the presence of functional contradictions within and among social relations, which derive from, but are not limited to, the contradictions that occur in social class, labour economics, and socioeconomic interactions. Within Marxism, a contradiction is a relationship in which two forces oppose each other, leading to mutual development.
Historical materialism is Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx located historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods.
The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism is an article written by the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin and published in 1913. The article was dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of Karl Marx’s death.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Marxism: