A DISCOURSE ON THE SUBJECT MATTER OF HISTORICAL MATERIALISM
Historical materialism is the scientific
theory of social development. However, it has as its subject matter, the study of society and the laws of its
development. These laws (the laws of social life) which are being studied
by historical materialism are objective in principle just like the laws of nature.
By objective, we mean that they are not laws made by man, but are found as part
of the universal system in a way similar to natural laws. In addition, these
laws can be known by man and are also applied by him in his practical day to
day activities. However, there are essential differences between the laws of
social life and the laws of nature. The laws of nature (like the law of
gravity) are expressed through inanimate, spontaneous forces while the laws of
social life are always expressed through people whom are intelligent beings
that set definite aims and work to achieve them.
Furthermore, historical materialism is
not the only science that studies the laws of social life. Indeed, some other
social sciences like political economy, history, aesthetics, and psychology and
so on, also study these laws. But these other social sciences are limited, as
they merely study a certain group of social phenomena, examine society from
just one perspective and they fail to give an idea of the process of social development
as a whole. For example, aesthetics studies society as it only relates to the
sphere of art and beauty; psychology studies society as it only relates to the
sphere of human behaviour.
LAWS OF HISTORICAL MATERIALISM
On the other hand, and in contrast to the
social sciences, historical materialism studies the most general laws of social development. Historical
materialism, explains the phenomena and reality of social life in a scientific,
dialectical materialist manner. Thus, these laws are not mono-dimensional but
are intrinsically relevant to every sphere of social development. Some of the
core general laws of socio-historical development which historical materialism
deals with are, the law of;
§ The
relationship between social being and social consciousness§ The importance of material production in people's lives
§ The origin and role of social ideas and their corresponding institutions
§ The role played by people and individuals in history
§ The origin of classes and the class struggle
§ The origin of the state
§ The causes of social revolution and their significance in the historical process
However, it should be noted that not all
the laws studied by historical materialism have the same sphere of operation.
Some of these laws operate at all stages of society's development while others
operate at particular stages. Among those laws that operate at all stages are,
the law which determines the relationship between social being and social
conciousness, and the law that determines the role which the mode of production
plays in the development of society. Regarding the laws that operate only at
particular stages of society's development, a crucial one is the law of the
class struggle. This law operates only in societies that are stratified into
hostile classes. An example of this is a capitalist society, which is made up
of the exploitative bourgeoisie and the oppressed proletariat.
CATEGORIES OF HISTORICAL MATERIALISM
Furthermore, there are the categories of
historical materialism. These are the categories and concepts that reflect the
most general and essential aspects of social development. These categories are
five in number and they are;
i.
Social
being - this is all about the material life of
society, which includes man’s activity in the field of material production,
as well as the economic relation that exist between people in the production
process.
ii. Social consciousness - this encompasses the spiritual life of the people, which is, the ideas, theories, worldviews and values, which guide them in what they do.
iii. Mode of production - this includes; productive forces: which are human labour power and available knowledge given the level of technology in the means of production (e.g. tools, equipment, buildings and technologies, materials, and improved land). Production relations or relations of production: which are the property, power and control relations governing society's productive assets, cooperative work relations and forms of association, relations between people, the objects of their work, and the relations between social classes.
iv. Base - this entails the forces and relations of production into which people enter to produce the necessities and amenities of life. The base of a society determines its superstructure. However, the base–superstructure relationship is reciprocal.
v. Super-structure - the culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and state of a society. Although the base influences the superstructure, their relationship is not that of cause and effect. Thus, the superstructure also influences the base, but that of the base supercedes.
Finally, it is only through the combination of the laws and categories of historical materialism that we can successfully furnish a single, harmonious and dialectically connected picture of social development.
A CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL MATERIALISM (PROS AND CONS)
§ The pros
Without historical materialism, without knowledge of the general laws and categories of social development, no social science can develop fruitfully.
Historical materialism is the methodological foundation (foundation of method) of all the other several social sciences.
It enables all sociologists to easily understand the workings of social phenomenon and social life.
It enables man to influence social life, and to transform it in the interests of the working people.
§ The cons
Unlike the other social sciences, it has been explained that historical materialism studies the most general laws of social development. Nevertheless, it is also expressed that not all the laws studied by historical materialism have the same sphere of operation. Accordingly, some of these laws operate at all stages of society's development while others operate at particular stages. Specifically, the law of the class struggle is a historical materialist law, which operates only in societies that are stratified into hostile classes; like that of the capitalist society, which is made up of the exploitative bourgeoisie and the oppressed proletariat. In connection to the above, the problem here is this; if historical materialism is truly the science of the most general laws of social development, it thereby should not possess laws that only apply to a particular stage of society's development. This simply shows an in-suffeciency of historical materialism in connection to social phenomena and life. In summary, for historical materialism to truly qualify as the science of the most general laws of social development, it should possess only laws that apply to every stage of society's development.
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