Historical Materialism
- Marx’s theory that material conditions (economy, labour, production) drive historical change
- ideas, culture, and politics arise from material life, not the other way around
- history progresses as societies change their mode of production
- social conflict (class struggle) = main motor of history
Mode of Production
The combination of:
(1) Productive forces (tools, technology, labour power)
(2) Social relations of production (class relationships, who owns what)
different modes of production structure society, power, and class
5 primary modes of production:
- Primitive Communism
- Ancient
- Feudal
- Capitalist
- Communist
Primitive Communism
- underdeveloped; no divisions, all collective
- earliest human societies
- no private property; resources shared communally
- no classes, no exploitation
- low technology → low productivity
- cooperation is necessary for survival
- ends when surpluses appear → inequality forms
Ancient Mode of Production
- simple; labour tools owned by masters
- based on slave–master relations
- clear ownership of workers (slaves)
- strong centralized states (empires, city-states)
- surplus extracted directly through coercion
Feudal Mode of Production
- based on lord–serf relations
- serfs tied to land; owe labour/services to lords
- tradition + custom guide production
- limited mobility; hierarchy deeply rooted
Capitalist Mode of Production
- based on capitalist–proletariat relations
- workers sell labour power; capitalists own means of production
- production driven by profit, accumulation, and competition
- exploitation through wage labour (surplus value)
Communist Mode of Production
- future classless society (post-capitalism)
- no private ownership of means of production
- abolition of classes, state, and exploitation
- production organized democratically for human needs, not profit
- humans regain control over labour → end of alienation
Doubly Free Labour
- free as a person (can choose where to work, whom to work for, to enter the labour market at all)
- they are free from ownership of land, tools, machinery, factories (they cannot produce independently)
Primitive Accumulation
The violent historical process that created the conditions for capitalism by separating people from the means of production (seizure of land, slavery, free labour)
Capitalism was built through coercion, violence, and dispossession
Social Relations of Production
class-based relationships that organize production
Social Relations of Production: What This Includes
- class relations (capitalist vs worker)
- control over work processes
- ownership of property
- power over decisions and distribution of resources
Social Relations of Production: Why It Matters
These relations determine:
- who benefits from production
- who is exploited
- how society is organized
In capitalism, social relations are based on:
- private property
- wage labour
- exploitation through surplus value
Productive Forces
The tools, technologies, skills, knowledge, and labour that make production possible
Components of Productive Forces
- human labour-power (physical + mental capacity)
- tools and machinery
- technology + scientific knowledge
- infrastructure (factories, transportation, systems)
Contradictions
Internal tensions within the mode of production that push it toward crisis and transformation
In capitalism, key contradictions include:
- Capital vs labour (profit motive vs worker survival)
- Overproduction vs underconsumption
- Growth of productive forces vs private ownership
- Need for workers vs drive to replace them with machines
- Expansion of markets vs recurring crises
Ideology
A set of beliefs, values, and narratives that justify and naturalize existing social relations, making inequality appear normal or inevitable
Functions of ideology
- masks exploitation (“hard work brings success”)
- justifies class domination (“the market is natural”)
- maintains the status quo
- shapes consciousness (false consciousness)
Theory of the State
The state is not neutral—it is an instrument that serves the interests of the ruling class
Functions of the State
- protects private property
- manages class conflict
- maintains order for capitalism
- facilitates capital accumulation (infrastructure, laws, policing)
Dialectical Change
Historical change driven by internal contradictions that generate conflict, transformation, and new social forms
Dialectical Change Process
- existing structure contains contradictions
- contradictions intensify → crisis
- struggle produces new synthesis
- society evolves into a new mode of production
