Materialism In History

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Recommended: Karl Marx and his theory of capitalist society

Elena Théard Professor Zucker HIS 1003 – April 23, 2014 In this research paper, we will attempt to determine which view on history is correct – one formulated by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in “The Manifesto of the Communist Party” or one developed by W.E.B. Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folk. According to Marx and Engels, “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” The two thinkers see the history as a conflict between “oppressor and oppressed, standing constantly in opposition to each other.” Thus, they view history through the lens of exploitation of one class by another. Marx and Engels stress the materialist conception of history – the fact that economic forces have played a major role in shaping it. While to Marx and Engels race and ethnicity issues are secondary to class issues, another thinker, Du Bois, claims that “[t]he problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line, – the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.” According to him, the underlying force for any historical development is racial struggle and oppression of black people by white people. He attempts to explain the history using the issue of race while ignoring any class or economic struggle within the society – to Du Bois, “[s]tratification and order are secondary.” To determine whose view on history is correct, we will analyze two historical events – enslavement of Africans by European colonists and American Civil War. Slavery and Racism First, we would like to analyze whether race or class played a more important role in the creation and development of slavery. After analyzing “The Communist Manifesto,” we can conclude th... ... middle of paper ... ...lace. Thus, history is better understood through the struggle of different classes than in terms of race. Racism was used to justify slavery and racism and to divide the population to pit one part of the working class against another, thus weakening class consciousness. Economic forces drive the society, they are History can be explained by the competition between economics classes. Thus, we have come to conclusion that although class struggle and racism are linked, the former one is more significant as it indeed lies behind many important historical events. Social change in history Overall, we lean towards Marxist view on history. Working class people of all ethnicities faced the same struggles – no matter what color their skin is. At least in the American history, racial and class struggle go hand in hand. Racial is weaker than economic one. Bibliography

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