Dialectical materialism is the world outlook

of the Marxist-Leninist party. It is called dialectical

materialism because its approach to the
phenomena of nature, its method of studying
and apprehending them, is dialectical, while its
interpretation of the phenomena of nature, its
conception of these phenomena, its theory, is
materialistic.
Historical materialism is the extension of
the principles of dialectical materialism to the
study of social life, an application of the principles
of dialectical materialism to the phenomena
of the life of society, to the study of society
and of its history.
When describing their dialectical method,
Marx and Engels usually refer to Hegel as the
philosopher who formulated the main features
of dialectics. This, however, does not mean
that the dialectics of Marx and Engels is identical
with the dialectics of Hegel. As a matter of
fact, Marx and Engels took from the Hegelian
dialectics only its "rational kernel," casting
aside its Hegelian idealistic shell, and developed
dialectics further so as to lend it a modern
scientific form.
"My dialectic method," says Marx, "is not
only different from the Hegelian, but is its direct
opposite. To Hegel, ... the process of thinking
which, under the name of 'the Idea,' he even
transforms into an independent subject, is the
demiurgos (creator) of the real world, and the
real world is only the external, phenomenal
form of 'the Idea.' With me, on the contrary, the
ideal is nothing else than the material world
reflected by the human mind and translated
into forms of thought." (Marx, Afterword to the
Second German Edition of Volume I of Capital.) In ancient times dialectics
was the art of arriving at the truth by disclosing
the contradictions in the argument of
an opponent and overcoming these contradictions.
"In its proper meaning," Lenin says, "dialectics
is the study of the contradiction within
the very essence of things." (Lenin, Philosophical
Notebooks, p. 265.)
And further:
"Development is the 'struggle' of opposites."
(Lenin, Vol. XIII, p. 301.)

Further, if the world is in a state of constant

movement and development, if the dying
away of the old and the upgrowth of the new is
a law of development, then it is clear that there
can be no "immutable" social systems, no
"eternal principles" of private property and exploitation,
no "eternal ideas" of the subjugation
of the peasant to the landlord, of the worker to
the capitalist. Hence, the capitalist system can be replaced
by the socialist system, just as at one
time the feudal system was replaced by the
capitalist system
In past, existing social order that governed the relations between people was hailed
as part of nature order, predefined by gods. Division between haves and have-nots
was gods will. Marxism theory is revolution of social, economic and political change.
For [dialectical philosophy] nothing is final, absolute, sacred. It reveals the transitory character of
everything and in everything; nothing can endure before it except the uninterrupted process of becoming
and passing away, of endless ascendancy from the lower to the higher, Fredrick Engels wrote in The
End of Classical German Philosophy.

Dialectical materialism is combination of both dialectics and materialism. It indicates clearly that
changes in society are not necessarily linear, that history moves forward in fits and starts.
Materialism argues that the actual reality of the surrounding world determines the way people think and
what they believe. In contrast to religious and other idealist philosophies, Marxs materialist conception
of history asserted, it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social
existence that determines their consciousness. (Karl Marx, Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of
Political Economy, 1859)
Materialism shows that the process of humanitys social development is tied directly with the development
of production and technology. Production is the expression of humanitys ongoing relationship with the
world. It is a manifestation of the never-ending battle for survival. Every living organism struggles to
survive and thrive, whether simply defying cold weather, eluding predators, searching for food or working
in a factory.
Of course, not everyones material reality is the same. For the working class, the struggle for basic needs
occupies a greater part of life. For the capitalist class of owners, material reality consists of luxury gained
by virtue of their social position within the exploitative capitalist economy.
This material reality, according to the materialist worldview, determines how people think about the world.
Materialists would reply to those activists who want to change peoples ideas: yes, we want to change
peoples ideas. But the only way to do that is to change the material conditionsthe way society is
organized.s
Dialectical thought is merely the reflection of objective dialectics. Darwin theory: Nothing exist without
opposition. When opposite confront each other, change occur. In society, social change occurs in the
conflict between opposing classesin capitalist society, between the working class and the capitalist
class. The conflict breaks out on a day-to-day basisprotests, strikes, pickets and so forth. But when

these protests come together in a united political movement against the capitalist class, a quantity of
struggles can bring about a qualitative changea revolution..
Marxism dialectical theory is a living science. Can be applied not only to history but also to current events
to show Marxisms continuing validity and relevances as a way of analyzing the life and world. Still today
rich people dont want to change the system and make something new. Religion similarly argues that
people are not the main force for change. It attributes change to a divine power, offering hope for change
in an afterlife. But dialectical materialism shows that both notions are false. We strive to point out that it is
material contradictions that exist under capitalism that lead to the dialectical resolution of these
contradictions.

Dialectics is nothing more than the science

of the general laws of motion and
development of nature, human society
and thought. (Engels, Anti-Dhring.)
Marxist theory is therefore an
absolutely essential device for any activity
within the labor movement. We need
to be consciously attuned to the contradictory
forces at work in the class struggle,
in order to orient ourselves to the
way in which events are developing.
The dialectical method of thinking
already had a long existence before
Marx and Engels developed it scientifically
as a means of understanding the
evolution of human society.
The ancient Greeks produced
some great dialectical thinkers, including
Plato, Zenon and Aristotle. As early as
500 B.C., Heraclitus advanced the idea
that everything is and is not, for everything
is in ux, is constantly changing,
constantly coming into being and passing
away. And further, all things ow,
all change. It is impossible to enter twice
into one and the same stream. This statement
already contains the fundamental
conception of dialectics that everything
in nature is in a constant state of change,
and that this change unfolds through a
series of contradictions.
...the great basic thought that
the world is not to be comprehended
as a complex of ready made things, but
as a complex of processes, in which
things apparently stable, no less than
their mental images in our heads, concepts
go through an uninterrupted change
of coming into being and passing away.
(Engels, Anti-Dhring,)

For dialectical philosophy nothing

is nal, absolute, sacred. It reveals
the transitory character of everything and
in everything: nothing can endure before
it except the uninterrupted process of
becoming and of passing away, of endless
ascendancy from the lower to the higher.
And dialectical philosophy is nothing
more than the mere reection of this process
in the thinking brain. (Ibid.) Dialectics deals not only with
facts, but with facts in their connection,
i.e. processes, Trotsky, in his ABC of Materialist
Dialectics characterized the dialectic
as a science of the forms of our thinking
insofar as it is not limited to the daily
problems of life but attempts to arrive
at an understanding of more complicated
and drawn-out processes.
Marxism offers thinking workers
and youth a clear understanding of
society and their place within it. It offers
them a new world outlook. It offers them
a future. In the words of Lenin, The
Marxian doctrine is omnipotent because
it is true. It is complete and harmonious,

13

and provides men with an integral world

conception which is irreconcilable with
any form of superstition, reaction or
defense of bourgeois oppression. (The
Trotskys ABC of Materialist
Dialectics is a brilliant short explanation
of Marxist philosophy. It was written as
part of a defense of Marxism against
a middle class revisionist tendency in
the American Trotskyist movement in
the late 1930s, which attempted to challenge
its basic principles. (See Trotskys
In Defense of Marxism). As opposed
to pragmatism and empiricism, Trotsky
defended dialectical materialism as a
richer, fuller, more comprehensive view
of society and life in general.
He explained that the dialectic is
the logic of evolution. Just as a machine
shop in a plant supplies instruments for
all departments, so logic is indispensable
for all spheres of human knowledge... I
know of two systems of logic worthy of

attention: the logic of Aristotle (formal

logic) and the logic of Hegel (the dialectic).
The ancient Greeks, more than
2,000 years ago, made an outstanding
contribution to the development of human
thought. They sought to understand the
universe, society and mans place within
it. As Engels explained, The ancient
Greek philosophers were all natural-born
dialecticians and Aristotle, the most encyclopedic
intellect among them, had even
already analyzed the most essential forms
of dialectical thought. They began to
see things not as xed and lifeless, but
in their real development and movement.
In Heraclituss words: Everything is and
is not, for everything is in ux, is constantly
changing, constantly coming into
being and passing away. This graphic
description is the basic core of dialectics.
This corresponded to Engels view: For
dialectical philosophy nothing is nal,
absolute, sacred. It reveals the transitory
character of everything and in everything:
nothing can endure before it except the
uninterrupted process of becoming and
passing away, of endless ascendancy from
the lower to the higher. (Anti-Dhring).
For the Greeks, however, dia