What is dialectical materialism?

Answer

The term dialectical materialism is not commonly used in everyday conversations; however, it is connected to more frequently discussed concepts like Marxism, communism, and socialism. Dialectical materialism posits that human ideas stem solely from physical interactions, particularly those related to economics, and are continually evolving. Initial ideas give rise to contradictions or conflicts, leading to changes, which in turn give rise to new ideas. In essence, dialectical materialism can be seen as evolution applied to philosophy rather than organisms. It serves as the foundational assumption of Marxist and communist political theories.

The two components of the term dialectical materialism carry distinct meanings. Materialism is employed to describe a philosophical approach and a framework for interpreting history. Philosophically, materialism asserts that only physical entities exist, and all ideas, thoughts, and even consciousness are merely products of physical interactions. The interpretation of evidence or experiences through a materialist perspective is known as naturalism.

Moreover, materialism is also a term used to describe a specific approach to history. According to this viewpoint, human existence is primarily shaped by the production of essential material needs for survival, such as food, water, and shelter. Therefore, in historical materialism, human progress, governance, economics, and other aspects are primarily motivated by the fundamental urge to survive.

Dialectical materialism encompasses both of these interpretations of materialism.

In philosophy, the term dialectical refers to a pattern of interaction between ideas, where an initial idea elicits a response, and these two elements then merge to form a final idea. This process is often described using the terms thesis (the initial idea), antithesis (the response or contradiction to that idea), and synthesis (the resulting combination of the two).The final idea is formed by resolving contradictions. In the context of dialectical materialism, this concept is closely linked to the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel, even though Hegel’s dialectic was not materialist.

Dialectical materialism encompasses all of these key themes: a rejection of the non-material, the assertion that economic issues propel human history, and the idea that everything is continually evolving through the process of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Through the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, this became the philosophical foundation of Marxism and communism.

According to Marx and Engels, all progress in human history has been impelled by economic matters. They believed that the shift from agriculture to industry led to the majority losing control over their own labor, resulting in the formation of two primary classes: the bourgeoisie, who possess power and property; and the proletariat, who are the laborers and producers of material goods. Indirectly, Marx and Engels’ writings outline the framework of what is now known as dialectical materialism—an economically centered, atheistic progression of thesis-antithesis-synthesis. In their perspective, this progression would lead from capitalism to socialism, eventually culminating in full communism: the complete eradication of all social classes and disparities. Through this philosophical perspective, they proposed that the remedy for the shortcomings of capitalism was to advance human economics.

Dialectical materialism is afflicted by several significant shortcomings. Primarily, it presupposes the absence of God or any reality beyond the physical realm. Apart from being factually incorrect, this approach has proven perilous when applied to governance due to the consequences of embracing atheism. This ties into the second major flaw of dialectical materialism: its simplistic assumptions about human nature. For a society to genuinely progress from capitalism to socialism to communism, individuals must consistently act in the best interests of others and never from selfish motives—a profound concept.

Highly unrealistic expectation. Third, dialectical materialism assumes that human culture is shaped almost entirely by economics, an idea not well-supported in modern historical or economic studies.

While it may sound sophisticated, dialectical materialism boils down to the same basic idea expressed in biblical passages such as Romans 1:22 and Psalm 14:1. When man attempts to explain truth without God or to interpret history without truth, the end result is disaster. The horrific toll that atheistic and communist governments have taken on mankind is the natural result of assuming that man is nothing but matter and that controlling economics is a means of controlling men.