Notes on MARXISIM

●Who calls “Religion as opium” and “Ideology as a false

consciousness”? - MARXISM
●Who said “Political Party as Vanguard if Revolution and “Harbinger
of Democratic Centralization?” – LENIN

● Understanding BASE & SUPERSTRUCTURE

Neither the base nor the superstructure is naturally occurring or

static. They are both social creations, or the accumulation of
constantly evolving social interactions between people.
Base refers to the production forces, or the materials and resources,
that generate the goods society needs. Superstructure describes all
other aspects of society. Society's superstructure includes
the culture, ideology, norms, and identities that people inhabit. In
addition, it refers to the social institutions, political structure, and the
state—or society's governing apparatus. Marx argued that the
superstructure grows out of the base and reflects the ruling class's
interests. As such, the superstructure justifies how the base operates
and defends the power of the elite.

● Understanding HISTORICAL MATERIALISM

Karl Marx's historical materialism is a theory that analyses ‘societal
development’ based on the interaction between ‘productive forces’
(technology, labour, resources) and ‘social relations’ (class struggles,
power dynamics).
● Historical Progression: Societies evolve through different stages
influenced by changes in the mode of production.

● All human beings must engage in economic activity for the

necessities of life. In the aggregate, this requirement means that
every society relies on its mode of production. All institutions of that
society must therefore follow from that mode, adapt to it, or be
eliminated. This condition is the “motor of history” and the reason
why societies disappear over time: as modes of production evolve,
they face new contradictions that lead to their replacement by other,
more advanced economic systems, which in turn develop new
societies.

The Fifth stage of ‘state socialism’ is a temporary stage which is

required to end the private property and end class antagonism. This
socialist state will wither away and people will achieve classless and
stateless society which will be called “Communism”.
● Understanding DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM
Hegel has developed dialectical idealism. For him, it is the idea,
which ultimately matters. Idea lies in the base or the sub-structure,
which determines everything in the superstructure. Society, polity,
economy are in this superstructure which is shaped by the prevalent
dominant ideas of the age. Ultimately it is the idea, which matters,
and the other things are only its reflection.
Marx replaced idea with ‘matter’. According to Marx, the material
or the economic forces are in the base and the idea is a part of the
superstructure. Idea is the reflection of material forces. The
economic forces determine the idea and not vice-versa. Thus, Marx
has reversed the position of idea and matter. This is the reason that
he claims that “in Hegel it was upside down and I have corrected it”.
The base consists of the forces of production and the relations of
production. These two together constitute the mode of production.
When there is a change in the forces of production because of
development in technology, it brings changes in the relations of
production. Thus, a change in the mode of production brings a
corresponding change in the superstructure. Society, polity, religion,
morals, values, norms, etc. are a part of the superstructure and
shaped by the mode of production.

Friedrich Engels outlined three major laws of dialectical materialism

in his book “Anti-Duhring”, 1878:
● The Law of the Unity and Conflict of Opposites
This law reveals that objects and phenomena in the material world
have internal sides, tendencies, and forces that are mutually
exclusive but also dependent on each other.
The unity of opposites arises from the inseparable interconnections
of these contradictory elements. However, these opposites cannot
coexist peacefully, and their conflicting nature leads to struggle and
change. The conflict between old and new, emergent and obsolete,
gives rise to new situations, objects, phenomena, or stages of
development. This conflict is the main source of development and
change in matter and consciousness.
● The Law of Negation of the Negation
Negation is an integral part of the development of reality itself. It
occurs as a result of the object’s or phenomenon’s internal
contradictions. “Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis”- creating the
conditions for their own destruction and the emergence of new,
higher qualities. Social development, for example, consists of a chain
of negations of the old social order by the new. Each new stage
negates the previous one while incorporating certain elements or
aspects from it.
● The Law of Transition of Quantity into Quality
This law explains that change in nature is not gradual but occurs
through quantitative advances that lead to qualitative changes
when mature conditions are present.
~Qualitative changes represent the birth or disappearance of
something,
~while Quantitative changes involve rearrangements or variations of
different aspects while maintaining the object’s identity.

Continuous quantitative changes reach a limit determined by the

nature of the process, beyond which a leap or qualitative change
inevitably occurs. These qualitative changes are from lower to higher,
simpler to complex, and homogeneous to heterogeneous levels of
reality.