Video The Marxist view of history
Core Argument¶
The central thesis is that historical materialism is not a schematic dogma but a scientific method for understanding the dynamics of social development. The article argues that history is driven not by the actions of "great men" or the force of abstract ideas, but by the development of the productive forces and the class struggles that arise from the contradictions in the relations of production. The claim is that only by grasping this materialist conception can revolutionaries understand the world in order to change it — that theory is inseparable from revolutionary practice.
Theoretical Grounding¶
The analysis is rooted in the classical Marxist tradition, drawing directly on Marx and Engels's Communist Manifesto and the foundational texts of historical materialism. It situates itself within the orthodox Marxist tradition that insists on the primacy of class struggle as the motor of history, rejecting both the idealist "great man" theory of bourgeois historiography and the mechanical determinism that some later Marxists imposed on the method. The article stands in the lineage of the Marxist tradition that insists on the dialectical relationship between base and superstructure — that changes in the economic foundation of society eventually lead to transformations in the political and ideological spheres, but that this process is mediated through conscious class struggle, not automatic economic laws.
Conjunctural Relevance¶
The article was produced for the Revolution 2016 Marxist school, a period when the global capitalist system was still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis and its protracted aftermath. The conjuncture is one in which bourgeois ideology — with its celebration of individual leaders and its denial of class as a meaningful category — was increasingly unable to explain the growing instability, inequality, and political polarisation across the advanced capitalist economies. The argument is directly relevant to the contemporary moment because it provides the theoretical tools to understand why reformist solutions fail: they treat capitalism's crises as technical problems to be managed by enlightened leaders, rather than as expressions of the fundamental contradiction between socialised production and private appropriation. The article implicitly argues that without a materialist understanding of history, the working class cannot develop the strategic clarity needed to move beyond defensive struggles toward revolutionary transformation.
Where the Argument Continues¶
This article serves as an introductory exposition of the Marxist method. The argument continues in several directions within the IDOM corpus. The theoretical elaboration of historical materialism is developed further in articles on the dialectic, particularly those engaging with Engels's Anti-Dühring and Dialectics of Nature. The application of the method to specific historical periods is taken up in the extensive series on the Russian Revolution, the rise of fascism, and the analysis of Stalinism. For the current conjuncture, the argument connects to IDOM's ongoing analysis of the crisis of neoliberalism, the rise of right-wing populism, and the strategic debates within the labour movement — all of which are treated as phenomena that can only be understood through the lens of class struggle and the contradictions of capital accumulation.
Connections¶
This article should be read alongside Marx's Preface to a Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, where the classic formulation of base and superstructure is laid out, and Engels's Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, which popularises the materialist conception of history. Within the IDOM corpus, it connects to the articles on the dialectical method and to the series on the Marxist theory of the state. For a deeper engagement with the philosophical foundations, readers should consult Trotsky's In Defence of Marxism, which defends the dialectical method against both mechanical materialism and idealist revisionism. The article also implicitly connects to the broader Marxist debate with structuralist and post-structuralist approaches to history, which deny the primacy of class struggle in favour of fragmented identities or discursive formations.
Key Quotes¶
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
"Our task, as Marxists, is to uncover the dynamics of society and history; to reveal the motor force of development and progress; to understand the world in order to change it."
"The Marxist view of history is not a collection of dogmas, but a guide to action."
"Bourgeois historians see history as the product of 'great men' and their 'great ideas' — a superficial analysis that ignores the real material forces driving social change."
"The development of the productive forces comes into contradiction with the existing relations of production, and this contradiction expresses itself in the form of class struggle."
"Without a scientific understanding of history, the working class is condemned to stumble from one spontaneous outburst to another, never able to generalise its experience or develop a revolutionary strategy."