What is Historical Materialism?

What drives history forward? Some claim that great men construct history around them solely through their own willpower. Others argue that progress doesn’t exist at all, and that historical events are essentially random or accidental. 

Both of these theories couldn’t be further from the truth. Marxism arms us with the knowledge that we can study history. Through meticulous study of the facts, we can draw out general laws that explain the course of world-historical development, all the way from pre-civilization to today’s crisis-ridden capitalist system. Though great leaders can play a decisive role at certain watershed moments, Marxism shows that the driving forces of history are the development of the productive forces and the class struggle.

This is the science of historical materialism, the fundamentals of which will be addressed in this talk. Only through a clear understanding of the Marxist view of history can communists make sense of the seemingly chaotic world around us today, and gain an understanding of our role in the fight for socialist revolution. 

This discussion will be introduced by Ethan Quinn, a leading member of the RCA in Philadelphia.

Reading list:

Articles

• Freedom and Slavery: the Birth of Capital – Josh Holroyd
• What is Historical Materialism? – Alan Woods

Books

• Anti-Duhring, Part III: Socialism – Friedrich Engels
• The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State – Friedrich Engels
• On Historical Materialism – Franz Mehring

Videos

• Progress, Decline, and the Marxist View of History – Josh Holroyd