POL 315
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MARXISM
UNIT 4
HISTORICAL MATERIALISM
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Historical Materialism
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The history of mankind right from the inception of sedentary life has
always been the history of struggles. History and civilisation has been
product of time and space. Man’s effort has been gradual and
incremental, cumulatively. Every historical change is propelled by the
dynamics of conflict which is dialectical and is prevalent both in nature
and in society. Historical materialism is a philosophical idea, and is
founded on the Marxist notion that social evolution (history) is governed
by certain objective laws that will inevitably lead mankind to
progressive continuum of simple to complex life. For the Marxists, the
moving force in history is class and its attendant contradiction that is
always resolved when one class overthrows and dominates other social
forces.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• justify the claim that history is dynamic and that there is a logic
governing the movement of history.
• discuss the fact that conflict in nature and in society is inevitable
• discuss the assertion that class struggles are inevitable and are
usually resolved when one class conquers and dominate the rest.
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Historical Materialism
The ideas of Karl Marx were fostered by three major factors
characterising nineteenth- century Europe. First, the Industrial
Revolution had created previously unimagined levels of production,
even as the methods of producing and distributing wealth saw a tiny
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