What is historical materialism

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument¶

The central thesis is that historical materialism is not merely a theory of history but a scientific method for understanding and transforming society. Alan Woods argues that the ultimate motor of historical change is not ideas, consciousness, or great individuals, but changes in the mode of production — the way human beings organise to produce their material life. History, properly understood, is a lawful process governed by the development of the productive forces and the class struggles that arise from the contradictions in the relations of production. The article claims that without this materialist conception, history remains a chaotic jumble of accidents and personalities; with it, history becomes a science capable of guiding revolutionary practice.

Theoretical Grounding¶

The analysis is rooted in the classical Marxist tradition, drawing directly on Marx and Engels's formulation in The German Ideology and the 1859 Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Woods deploys the base-superstructure model — the economic foundation (relations of production corresponding to a given stage of productive forces) determines the legal and political superstructure, which in turn reacts back upon the base. The article also engages with Engels's later letters on historical materialism, which caution against vulgar economic determinism while maintaining the primacy of economic relations "in the last instance."

The piece situates itself within the orthodox Marxist tradition as defended by the Second International's revolutionary wing (Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotsky) against both reformist and idealist deviations. It explicitly rejects voluntarist and post-modernist approaches that deny historical laws, as well as mechanical interpretations that ignore the role of human agency and class consciousness.

Conjunctural Relevance¶

Though published in 2016, the article's relevance has sharpened in the current conjuncture. The return of overt great-power rivalry, the fragmentation of the post-Cold War liberal order, and the rise of irrationalist ideologies (from postmodern identity politics to far-right conspiracy theories) all represent a retreat from the scientific understanding of history that historical materialism provides. Woods's insistence that history is a lawful process directly counters the widespread sense of political fatalism and the "end of history" narrative that has collapsed under the weight of economic crisis, war, and climate breakdown.

The article's defence of historical materialism as a tool for understanding long-term historical development is particularly pertinent as the global capitalist system enters a period of prolonged stagnation, inflationary crisis, and geopolitical realignment — conditions that Marxists argue can only be properly grasped through the lens of the contradictions between productive forces and relations of production.

Where the Argument Continues¶

This article is the first in a six-part series that progressively develops the argument:

Part Two examines the stages of historical development, applying the materialist method to the transition from primitive communism through class societies.
Parts Three and Four provide detailed analyses of slavery, the Asiatic mode of production, feudalism, and capitalism, grounding the theoretical claims in concrete historical examples.
Part Five extends the argument to the transition to socialism and communism, addressing the question of revolutionary agency and the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The argument continues across the broader IDOM corpus, particularly in Alan Woods's Fundamentals of Marxism series and in Against the Stream episodes that apply historical materialism to contemporary events — for instance, analyses of the Ukraine war, the Chinese economy, and the crisis of social democracy. Trotsky's The History of the Russian Revolution remains the definitive application of the method to a concrete revolutionary epoch.

Connections¶

Marx and Engels, The German Ideology — the foundational text for historical materialism, establishing the primacy of material production.
Marx, Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy — the classic summary of the base-superstructure model.
Engels, Socialism: Utopian and Scientific — the most accessible introduction to the materialist conception of history.
Trotsky, The History of the Russian Revolution — the supreme application of historical materialism to a revolutionary conjuncture.
Plekhanov, The Development of the Monist View of History — a key defence of historical materialism against idealist and mechanical interpretations.
Georg Lukács, History and Class Consciousness — explores the relationship between historical materialism and revolutionary subjectivity, though with idealist tendencies that Woods's orthodox approach would critique.

Key Quotes¶

"The ultimate cause of all social change is to be found, not in the human brain, but in changes in the mode of production."
"Marxists do not see history as a mere series of isolated facts but rather, they seek to discover the general processes and laws that govern nature and society."
"The first condition for science in general is that we are able to look beyond the particular and arrive at the general. The idea that human history is not governed by any laws is contrary to all science."
"Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past."
"The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness."
"Historical materialism is not a dogma but a guide to action. It provides us with the key to understanding the past, the present, and the future — and with the weapon to change it."