HISTORICAL MATERIALISM EXPLAINED | A Marxist Theory of History

Summary

This script advocates for a scientific approach to understanding human society and its development through historical materialism. It discusses the evolution of societal structures from hunter-gatherers to class societies, emphasizing the impact of modes of production on social relations and ideologies. The script highlights the inherent conflicts within capitalism, the rise of the working class, and the potential for a socialist economy where production is driven by need rather than profit, ultimately calling for the abolition of the capitalist class and the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat.

Takeaways

• 🔬 The script advocates for a scientific approach to understanding human society, emphasizing the importance of historical materialism.
• 🧠 It discusses the materialist outlook in science, which posits that all phenomena, including social ones, have a cause rooted in the material world.
• 🔄 The script introduces the concept of dialectical materialism, suggesting that social phenomena are interconnected and constantly evolving.
• 🏭 The mode of production is identified as the foundation of human society, with the relations of production defining how people interact within it.
• 🌱 The earliest societies, such as hunter-gatherer groups, had an egalitarian structure due to the nature of their collective mode of production.
• 🌐 As societies develop, the forces of production evolve, leading to changes in social structures, cultures, and ideas, reflecting the materialist assertion in social science.
• 💡 The development of a surplus product in society allows for specialization and the emergence of a division of labor, which in turn leads to class societies.
• 🏛 The state is presented as a product of class society, used by the ruling class to enforce social order and protect their interests.
• 🌟 The French Revolution of 1789 is cited as an example of a rising class using political power to change social relations and advance their interests.
• 🏭 Capitalism is described as the current dominant mode of production, characterized by socialized production for private profit, leading to class conflict.
• 🛑 The script calls for the abolition of the dictatorship of capital and the establishment of a political system under the dictatorship of the proletariat, where democratic rule applies to all public life.
• 🔄 It highlights the general trends in capitalist development, which continuously divide society into workers and capitalists, despite the complexities of individual circumstances.

Q & A

What is the primary advantage the working class should take to gain political power?

The working class should take advantage of a clear understanding of human society, which includes understanding how particular groups respond and behave, clarifying competing interests, and understanding the relations between different groups.

What scientific approach is suggested for understanding human society?

The scientific approach suggested is historical materialism, which involves careful observation, developing hypotheses, and determining their validity based on material causes in the world.

What is the fundamental assumption of all sciences according to the script?

The fundamental assumption is that all phenomena, whether biological, chemical, or psychological, have causes that exist in the material world.

Why is it important to avoid mechanistic materialism when studying human society?

It's important to avoid mechanistic materialism because phenomena are fluid and full of motion, having multiple causes and effects that interact constantly. Understanding these interactions is crucial for a comprehensive view.

What is the basis of human society's existence according to the script?

The basis of human society's existence is production, which is the metabolic relationship between society and its environment, determining how a society goes about production, or its mode of production.

How did hunter-gatherer societies manage their means of production?

Hunter-gatherer societies collectively owned their means of production, with everyone involved in the process to produce the minimum needed to sustain their existence, resulting in an egalitarian social structure.

What role does surplus product play in the development of society?

The surplus product allows individuals to specialize in different sectors of production, leading to the division of labor and the emergence of class society with differing material interests.

What is the role of the state in a class society?

The state emerges to hold society together amidst class conflict, wielded by the ruling class to enforce social order and maintain their material interests.

What causes the conflict between the working class and the capitalist class in modern society?

The conflict arises because workers seek to keep as much of the value they generate through higher wages, while capitalists seek to take as much of the value generated by lowering wages, leading to irreconcilable material interests.

What is the ultimate aim of the working class according to the script?

The ultimate aim of the working class is to abolish private ownership over the means of production, replace it with public ownership and control, and establish a socialist economy where production is carried out according to need and want.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Understanding Historical Materialism

This paragraph discusses the importance of adopting a scientific approach to understanding human society, termed historical materialism. It explains the concept of materialism, emphasizing that all social phenomena have causes rooted in the material world. The text highlights the complexity and fluidity of interactions between causes and effects, advocating for a dialectical view of the world. The paragraph concludes by stressing the limitations of social sciences compared to hard sciences due to the lack of precise experimental tools.

05:03

🏹 Evolution of Social Structures and Modes of Production

This section explores how societies' modes of production influence their social structures, cultures, and ideas. Starting with hunter-gatherer societies, it describes their egalitarian nature driven by collective ownership of production tools. As forces of production develop, surpluses lead to the division of labor and the emergence of class societies. This creates conflicting material interests between classes, exemplified by the rise of the capitalist class and the conflicts inherent in capitalism. The paragraph also explains the historical transition from feudalism to capitalism, highlighting the role of surplus production in societal evolution.

10:04

⚙️ Class Conflict in Capitalist Society

This paragraph delves into the class conflict within capitalist societies, where the working class, which constitutes the majority, does not own the means of production. Workers sell their labor for wages, while capitalists own the means of production and seek to maximize profits, leading to an irreconcilable conflict of interests. The text discusses the potential for the working class to envision new relations of production and the eventual need to abolish private ownership, aiming for public ownership and control. The ultimate goal is a fully socialized economy where production is based on need rather than profit.

Keywords

💡Political Power

Political power refers to the ability to influence or control the decisions and policies of a government or organization. In the video, it is discussed as a necessary tool for the working class to gain advantages and shape society. The script mentions that understanding human society can provide insight into how groups may respond to events, which is crucial for the working class to leverage their political power effectively.

💡Historical Materialism

Historical materialism is a Marxist concept that explains social change and development as a result of the interplay between the economic base and the superstructure of society. The video emphasizes the importance of this approach to understand the world and its development, suggesting that it provides a framework for analyzing the causes of social phenomena and how different groups interact within society.

💡Scientific Method

The scientific method is a systematic approach to investigating and understanding the natural world, which involves making observations, forming hypotheses, conducting experiments, and drawing conclusions. The script advocates for the application of this method to human society, to study phenomena like cultural attitudes, wars, and ideas, by observing, hypothesizing, and refining based on new data.

💡Materialist Outlook

A materialist outlook posits that all phenomena, including biological, chemical, and psychological, have a cause rooted in the material world. The video script argues for this perspective in the study of human society, asserting that understanding that social phenomena have material causes is essential for a scientific approach to sociology.

💡Dialectical View

A dialectical view is a perspective that emphasizes the interconnectedness and constant change of phenomena, where elements are both causes and effects of each other. The script introduces this concept to describe the fluidity and motion in human society, where multiple causes contribute to a single phenomenon, and phenomena are in a state of constant interaction.

💡Mode of Production

Mode of production refers to the way in which the means of production (tools and resources) are used in conjunction with labor to produce goods. The video script explains that the mode of production shapes the social structure and cultural attitudes of a society, and changes in the mode of production can lead to changes in social phenomena.

💡Forces of Production

Forces of production encompass the labor and the means of production (tools, technology, and resources) used in the production of goods. The script discusses how the development of these forces can lead to a surplus product, which in turn enables specialization and the division of labor, ultimately affecting the social structure.

💡Relations of Production

Relations of production describe the social relationships people have with one another in the process of production. The video script highlights that understanding these relations is crucial for a full characterization of a society's mode of production, as they determine the social and economic organization of society.

💡Class Society

A class society is a social structure where different groups have unequal relations to the means of production, leading to different material interests and conflicts. The script explains how the emergence of a surplus product and the division of labor can lead to the formation of classes, with different interests that can result in social conflict.

💡State

The state, as discussed in the script, is a specialized armed body that emerges from class society to maintain social order and is wielded by one class against another. It is a product of class conflict and is used by the ruling class to enforce the dominant social relations.

💡Capitalism

Capitalism is the dominant mode of production in the modern age, characterized by private ownership of the means of production and socialized production for private profit. The script describes the inherent conflict within capitalism between the developed forces of production and the limiting capitalist relations of production, leading to class conflict between the working class and the capitalist class.

💡Dictatorship of the Proletariat

The dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a political system where the working class holds political power and enacts policies in their interest. The script suggests that to abolish capitalist relations of production and establish a socialist economy, the working class must establish this dictatorship, applying democratic rule to all spheres of public life.

Highlights

The necessity for the working class to understand human society for political power.

The importance of a scientific approach to understand the world, including human society and its development.

Historical materialism as a method to comprehend the world around us.

The scientific method's application to social sciences, despite the lack of experimental tools.

The materialist outlook that all phenomena have causes rooted in the material world.

Avoiding mechanistic materialism and embracing a more fluid and interactive understanding of phenomena.

The concept of dialectical materialism as an exploration of the world's interconnected phenomena.

The acknowledgment that social phenomena have causes, even if not immediately apparent.

The limitations of social sciences due to the absence of precise experimental tools.

The potential dissolution of the divide between hard and soft sciences with advanced tools like societal simulations.

The foundational basis of human society on the production of necessary goods like food, shelter, and water.

The mode of production as the defining characteristic of a society's approach to production.

Hunter-gatherer societies as an example of early egalitarian social structures based on collective ownership.

The relationship between the development of the forces of production and the emergence of class societies.

The role of the state as a product of class society, used to enforce social order.

The capitalist mode of production and its inherent conflict between the forces and relations of production.

The working class's struggle for political power and the abolition of capitalist relations of production.

The envisioned socialist economy where production is carried out according to need and want, not private profit.

The current snapshot of capitalist society showing a complex class structure beyond simple worker-capitalist divides.

The general trends in capitalist development that continuously divide society into two main classes.

Transcripts

if we're going to see political power

for the working class every advantage we

can get we need to take it one of these

advantages we can take is a clear

understanding of human society this kind

of understanding would give us insight

into how particular groups may respond

and behave to given events clarification

of competing interests and to understand

the relations between these different

groups what we need is to take a

scientific approach to human society and

its development we need historical

materialism in trying to understand the

world around us we've developed the

scientific method it involves careful

observation of phenomena developing

hypotheses about these observations and

determining whether or not these

hypotheses hold up need to be refined or

eliminated in light of new data but the

fundamental assumption of all the

sciences is that all phenomena

biological chemical psychological all

these phenomena have a cause and that

these causes exist right here in the

material world not often the heavens not

off with god not off in some plane of

existence independent of this world but

right here this is a materialist outlook

that science takes and most of you would

agree this is a correct assumption about

our world things don't just happen

because they happen they have a cause

and just because we may not know

something's caused at the moment doesn't

mean that cause doesn't exist it's

important we don't fall into a kind of

mechanistic materialism where one thing

is either only a cause or an effect

where one phenomena has a single cause

and their interaction is a single event

isolated from everything else in reality

things are a lot more fluid and full of

motion a single phenomena can have a

dizzying amount of causes and it can

often be both a cause and an effect we

find all things are constantly

interacting with one another and that

each thing cannot be properly understood

outside of these interactions

this is a kind of dialectical view of

our world for those who are interested

we'll have a separate video exploring

dialectical materialism so in taking a

scientific approach to human society we

have to make the same assumption all

social phenomena have a cause from the

structures of our governments our

cultural attitudes our wars our ideas

and so on all have causes in studying

these causes we have to recognize that

in the science of human society we lack

the sophisticated tools of

experimentation available to the quote

hard sciences and this is really at the

heart of the seeming divide between the

hard sciences and soft sciences for the

soft sciences more aptly called the

social sciences we just don't have the

precise tools to carry out carefully

controlled experiments but if and when

we do develop these tools this seeming

divide will dissolve for instance you

can imagine running powerful calibrated

simulations of human society where it

would be possible to hold constants

change variables and record resulting

effects so without these sophisticated

tools for the moment the science of

human society really can't make the same

kind of pinpoint accurate predictions

that the fields of modern physics and

chemistry can we're limited by the tools

we have and for the moment what we have

is careful observation a powerful tool

in the sciences just looking at human

society it can be overwhelming but in

making the scientific assumption about

human society the question we need to

start with is on what basis does human

society exist in the first place humans

as living beings need food shelter water

and so on to live and if a society is

unable to produce these necessary

products there is no society to speak of

what you find is that production is the

basis of human society's existence a

metabolic relationship between society

and her environment how a society goes

about production is what we call its

mode of production the instruments and

natural resources used to constitute the

means of production together with labor

give us the forces of production the

forces of production on their own can't

give us a full characterization of a

society's mode of production without

understanding how people relate to one

another in the course of production we

need to understand the relations of

production as well looking at the

history of human societies we see a

number of productive modes that have

existed one of the earliest being

hunter-gatherer societies these

societies utilize spears arrows and

woven baskets to forage for their

subsistence the means of production in

these societies were owned collectively

and everyone had to involve themselves

in the process of production to produce

the minimum needed to sustain their

existence in these hunter-gatherer

societies we find an incredibly

egalitarian social structure in ethos

not because these humans were somehow

morally superior or rationally superior

to other humans but because their crude

forces of production demanded this

egalitarianism these are not productive

tools members of this society cannot

afford to leave others to go hungry or

uncared for to restrict access to these

tools

all hands on deck are needed to muster

together just the bare minimum it is in

the hunter-gatherers material interest

that they themselves practice this

egalitarianism pressure others to behave

accordingly and to shun all and any

anti-egalitarian behavior this material

interest for egalitarianism is reflected

in this society's sense of morality

their ideas about themselves and the

world around them the ways in which they

govern themselves and so on what's being

highlighted here is that how societies

go about production ultimately

determines said society's ideas social

structures cultures and so on humanity's

physical and mental constitutions along

with their environments have remained

constant throughout these diverse

societies in relation to the variable

element their mode of production a

change in the mode of production forces

a change in the social phenomena of

society of course we can't be

mechanistic in our thinking these

resultant social phenomena go on to

influence reinforce and shape production

in a constant feedback loop but in the

final analysis the cause of social

phenomena is material this is the

materialist assertion in the science of

human society a general tendency for the

forces of production to develop over

time is an observable phenomena within

human societies as an aside this may be

rooted in a human interest to expend a

minimum and produce a maximum to make

whatever work we're performing easier

these improvements on the instruments of

production accumulation of knowledge and

refinement of skill increases a

society's output as the forces of

production develop in the

hunter-gatherer society the output

begins to consistently sit above the

minimum product needed to sustain the

society for the first time we have a

surplus product and the expansion of

wants and needs this surplus allows

particular individuals to specialize in

sectors of production we have the

emergence of a division of labor the

existence of artisans scholars artists

warrior casts chiefs feudal lords and so

on are made possible by this surplus

product with the division of labor we

have a society in which different groups

of individuals now relate to the means

of production differently and so too we

see a difference in material interests

we have the emergence of a class society

in our hunter-gatherer society

everyone's relation to the means of

production were equal and thus so too

were their material interests everyone

had an interest in successful hunts and

forages minimal wear on tools good

health for all and so on in a class

society where people's relation to the

means of production differ say a society

in which the land and tools are

privately owned by a lord and doled out

to farmers in exchange for a portion of

the product produced we have different

and conflicting material interests

between the classes the lord wants to

take as much of the yield as possible

whereas the farmers want to keep as much

of the yield as possible these are

irreconcilable material interests in

which there is no resolution under the

given mode of production politics in the

class society reflects the class

conflict with members of each class

seeking to advance their material

interests this deep and irreconcilable

conflict within society necessitates a

specialized armed body to hold this

society together the state emerges as a

product of class society wielded by one

class against another this ruling class

whose basis of existence is the

appropriation of the surplus product has

a material interest in maintaining the

dominant set of social relations and

hence uses the state to enforce this

social order as changes occur in the

forces of production given classes may

emerge and develop while others may

stagnate and decay a rising class can

emerge from the developing forces of

production which begins to envision a

new set of social relations in line with

their material interests struggling

against a stagnant class whose material

interest is tied to the current social

order a struggle for political supremacy

ensues over the power to alter and

enforce a society's social relations the

french revolution of 1789 brought the

rising french capitals class birth from

the development of trade and commerce to

political power

with this political supremacy rested

from a stagnant aristocracy the capitals

class did away with the dominant feudal

relations of society which had been

restricting the developing forces of

production and began the construction of

capitalist relations of production in

our modern age capitalism is the

dominant mode of production as opposed

to having individual artisans complete

goods from start to finish production

under capitalism is socialized allowing

products to be produced with extreme

efficiency

although these workers are the ones who

produce the products ownership and

control remains private with production

being carried out for the private profit

of these owners on the market in this

society we see a conflict between the

developed forces of production and the

now limiting capitalist relations of

production the highly productive forces

continually revolutionized undermine

profit rates in the long term and

periodically throw the market into

crisis in reaction owners seek to

maintain profit rates through means such

as the monopolization of markets and

innovative technologies holding back the

full productivity of the forces of

production this conflict in the mode of

production is reflected in the class

conflict between the working class and

the capitalist class

members of the working class who

constitute the overwhelming majority of

society do not own the means of

production their only means of

subsistence is selling their labor power

in exchange for a wage

capitalists privately own the means of

production and hire others to work on

these means to produce a product for a

market to be sold workers seek to keep

as much of the value they generate and

seeking higher wages whereas capitalists

seek to take as much of the value

generated and seeking to lower wages

here we have an irreconcilable conflict

of material interests with no resolution

under capitalism as the forces of

production continue to develop

socializing all that was previously

produced by the skilled individual and

dispossessing all those capitalists

unable to compete the ranks of the

working class expands this rising class

begins to envision new relations of

production in line with their material

interests it is in the working class's

material interest that this relationship

of exploitation between the worker and

owner is abolished altogether such that

the surplus generated by the working

class is kept by the working class

private ownership over the means of

production is to be abolished and

replaced by public ownership and control

letting loose the full productive power

of the forces of production in this

society everyone's relation to the means

of production is equal and we thus no

longer have antagonistic economic groups

that can only improve their condition by

ruining the other by working hard in

this society the individual not only

raises the standard of living for

themselves but all those around them and

vice versa as the freed forces of

production accelerate in their

development society may enter a fully

socialized economy in which production

is carried out according to need and

want as opposed to private profit in

conjunction with this expanding working

class under capitalism the ranks of the

capitals class shrink as ownership over

the means of production ever concentrate

in fewer hands every socially necessary

function once performed by the

capitalist is continually devolved to

the working class such that the

developed modern capitalist exists with

no real social function beyond that of a

passive recipient of the surplus product

produced by the workers the capitalist

class once playing a revolutionary role

has become a useless and parasitic class

whose material interest is to defend the

current social relations of society at

all costs in perpetuity this defense is

carried out by the dictatorship of

capital in which ultimate political

authority lies among those with wealth

and capital to achieve their aims the

workers must abolish this dictatorship

of capital and establish a political

system in which legislation of the law

execution of the law defense of the law

and judgment of the law are all under

majority rule they must establish the

dictatorship of the proletariat a true

and full application of democratic rule

to all spheres of public life with this

political supremacy the working classes

may abolish the capitalist relations of

production and begin the construction of

a socialist economy keep in mind what

we've been discussing thus far are

general trends as we've discussed

earlier all sciences are limited by the

available tools and for the science of

human society we just don't have the

tools to make pinpoint accurate

day-to-day predictions taking a look at

the current snapshot of capitalist

society you don't see a neat divide

between the workers and capitalists

that's been described we see workers who

have investments in the stock market

working class families who own their own

homes we see highly skilled workers who

may leverage this skill to secure a

comfortable living standard you also

still see small business owners who

aren't big enough to hire enough

employees to carry out all the functions

of a business they have to work

themselves and in many parts of the

world you still see the existence of a

peasant class but the general laws of

capitalist development continuously

divide society into these two grand

classes hey it's been a minute thank you

all for your patience and and wow there

are a lot of you if you want to learn

more about historical materialism i've

linked some resources in the description

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