[Modern History Research Paper] The Core Beliefs of Marxism and Dialectical Materialism

16 December 2022

If someone asks what the most dangerous yet influential political/economic system is, many would think of communism. Communism, although a newly introduced concept in the modern era, left a significant footprint in history. It separated the whole world into two with an Iron Curtain and still possesses a tremendous influence on the world through many communist nations. Accordingly, if someone asks what the foundation or root of communism is, many would—more confidently than before—think of Marx and Marxism. Marxism was introduced by Karl Marx in the 19th century when more concerns about the detriments of capitalism were arising. Marx criticized capitalism and proposed Marxism, his socialism-based economic and political philosophy. Many people, especially the working class, agreed with Marx’s critique of capitalism and shifted their worldview. Evidently, anyone would acknowledge the impact of Marxism on the world. Then, what is the foundation of Marxism? Since communism and Marxism are the philosophies that significantly impacted modern history, it is necessary to know and analyze their foundation and roots. Marxism puts its essence in dialectical materialism, a combination of Hegelian dialectics and materialism.

Karl Marx, born on May 5, 1818, in Germany, is the creator of Marxism and the patron of communism. His notable works “Das Kapital” and “The Communist Manifesto” made him the founder of communism and the critic of capitalism. He composed a highly complex economic theory based on socialism. Socialism is an idealistic philosophy that supports the well-being of all individuals with “cooperative labor and the common ownership of properties.” While most socialists were Utopianists (socialists who optimistically sought to establish Utopia on earth), Marx did not trust in the optimistic faith of establishing socialism. Rather, he believed that “any attempt to establish socialism before conditions were ripe would surely fail” (Moes 185). He made a scientific and realistic approach to social and economic reformation, thinking that Utopianists’ ideological and philosophical approach was useless. In 1848, Marx published one of his revolutionary masterpieces, “The Communist Manifesto,” to enlighten the people of his era and to convey the detriments of capitalism. In “The Communism Manifesto,” Marx points out how the goods and wealth produced by Capitalism are not well distributed among classes.

Capitalism shifted the entire economic system of society and enabled Europeans to gain enormous wealth and production. However, the problem arose when the wealth gained from the shift was not divided equally among classes but concentrated only in the top 10 percent of the population. As a result, “the rich got richer and the middle class began sinking to the level of the working class” (Menand). Marx strongly opposed Capitalism’s unfair system allowing the rich to own more property and the working class to submit their labor for far less. Thus, he predicted a class struggle between the ruling class and the working class caused by the unfair distribution of wealth. Marx even supported the uprising of the working class; in his opinion, the working class, who led their nation’s industrial growth, was the expert in the wealth production of the era. Therefore, he felt the necessity of materialistic reformation of the economic system.

Some of Marxism’s core ideas come from Hegelian philosophy. Hegel is a philosopher who introduced a new “Absolute,” the ever-changing world soul, through dialectics (Moes 186). He is the one who shifted the former value of reasoning through thesis and antithesis to synthesis. Hegel’s dialectics consists of three terms: thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. A thesis is an argument, and an antithesis is an argument against the thesis. Hegel claimed that thesis and antithesis are not only opposite of each other but combine to form a synthesis. Therefore, as thesis and antithesis replace and blend to create a synthesis, the world is “in a perpetual state of flux and self-creation” (Moes 186). This idea corresponds with Marx’s philosophy of the perpetual replacement of the classes. Hegel also believed in the spirituality of men, which elevated men as demigods or incarnates of god. Then, to Hegel, the state or the government was a genuine god existing on earth since it consisted of men. These complicated concepts of Hegel became the core ideas of Marx’s dialectical materialism.

Marx’s dialectical materialism is a combination of Hegelian dialectics and materialism. Marx used dialectics to scientifically and logically explain the class struggle and the revolt of the proletariat (the working class). He perceived the class struggle as one of the outstanding features of history (Moes 186). Similar to thesis and antithesis, there are always two groups in a society: the ruler and the oppressed. Marx applied the concept of synthesis in the class struggle; as thesis and antithesis mix and self-create a new synthesis, classes also overturn and mix to form a new ruling class. The change of the ruling class depends on the basic economic structure and physical needs of the people. For example, in the middle ages, the feudal lords were the ruling class since the economy of medieval Europe solely relied on agriculture and land businesses. However, as Capitalism entered Europe and central production shifted to mass production and trading, the bourgeoisie (the newly risen class which led the industrial revolution) overthrew the existing thesis, the feudal lords. As the bourgeoisie became the new ruling class and exploited the workers, Marx claims that “[t]he bourgeoisie produce[d] its own grave-diggers. The fall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable” (The Communist Manifesto). Marx claims that the predicted class struggle is a completely natural phenomenon of “perpetual replacement of the classes” and that the antithesis, the proletariat will overthrow the bourgeoisie and form a synthesis.

Materialism also plays a significant role in Marxism. Marx believed that “the unity of the world lies in its materiality, and that matter is the basis for all changes in the world” (Zhijun). Since materiality is the most essential factor in the world, Marx claimed that humans must fill their physical necessities first before the metaphysical necessity. Humans should eat, drink, and wear clothing before they engage in metaphysical pleasures such as learning and participating in politics (Zhijun). Therefore, Marx concluded that the ruling class changes depending on the natural needs of humans. The class that can best support the needs of the people would elevate as the new thesis. Thus, according to Marx’s belief, the proletariat or the laborers must revolt and elevate themselves to the new ruling class (in the era of the industrial revolution, laborers were the key provider of wealth). The materialistic features of Marx’s dialectical materialism justify the proletariat’s revolt against the bourgeoisie.

Marxism’s core belief comes from dialectical materialism, influenced by Hegel. Marx’s materialist worldview was synthesized with the Hegelian dialectics and formed his identical socialistic philosophy, Marxism. Unlike the former socialistic Utopianism, Marx scientifically approached socialism. Using dialectical materialism, he justified the revolt of the proletariat and the class struggle. Marxism influenced communism with its purpose to build a fair government with the scientific replacement of power and by doing that, left a giant footprint in human history. Marxism may look like a dangerous and unreasonable philosophy to the people of today’s democracy, but it is a significant and intriguing philosophy that attempts to approach equality and ideals realistically. Its scholastic value lies in the fact that it synthesized the materialistic worldview with Hegel’s dialectics and became the essence of all communist/socialist philosophy. Though Marx pursued a wrong ideal and philosophy, he was undoubtedly a great philosopher and an intellectual of the era.

Works Cited

Ball, Terence, and Richard Daggar. “Marxian Communism.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 July 1999, https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism/Marxian-communism

“Class Struggle.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marxism/Class-struggle.

Menand, Louis. “Karl Marx, Yesterday and Today.” The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2016,

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/karl-marx-yesterday-and-today.

Moes, Garry. Streams of Civilization, 9th ed., vol. 2, Christian Liberty Press, 1995, pp.

185–186.

Wu, Zhijun. “The Influence of Marxist Thoughts on the Ideological and Political Education

of College Students.” The Influence of Marxist Thoughts on the Ideological and Political Education of College Students | Atlantis Press, Atlantis Press, 1 May 2018, https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/sser-18/25898998.