Historical materialism
Topic: Schools of Economic Thought and Economic Laws · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Historical materialism is Marx's theory of how societies develop. It says the material base shapes everything else. The material base is the mode of production: how goods are made, and who owns the tools and land. The "superstructure" (laws, government, religion, ideas) grows out of this base. When the mode of production changes, society's institutions and ideas change too.
Example
In a feudal farming society, landlords own the land. So the laws and customs protect landlord rights and peasant duties. When factories and wage labour take over, new laws appear on contracts, property and company rights. To Marx, the shift in production drove the shift in laws.
Don't confuse with
- Class struggle: the conflict between owners and workers. Historical materialism is the overall theory, and class struggle is the force that drives change within it.
- Path dependence: this says past choices and historical accidents lock in outcomes (for example, the QWERTY keyboard). Historical materialism says the mode of production decides outcomes.
Related concepts
- Marxian economics
- Class struggle
- Surplus value
- Reserve army of labour
- Fabian socialism
- Democratic socialism
- Market socialism
- State capitalism