How is the theory of Dialectical Materialism regarded among historians and political scientists?

Question

Was it ever given much credence by historians and political scientists? Has its acceptance decreased as a result of the collapse of Communism?

Answer 1

I strongly disagree with houseofknightsandladies.

Marx's theory of 'Dialectical Materialism' is a fancy word to describe what he pictured as the chaos of capitalism: that as capitalism developed, it would create cycles of crash and expansion that would create larger and larger classes of dispossessed persons. Eventually there would be a small class of capitalists and a large class of labor that would unsustainable, leading to revolution.

It was really in response to this theory that capitalist nations instituted a lot of policies to educate and protect workers and provide a social safety net.

No one uses the term 'Dialectical Materialism' anymore, but they also don't use Hegal's Dialectic either - in other words people don't think the future is so easily explained. If you read Historical Journals today no one predicts the cycles of anything. Yet, nonetheless, people all the time talk about the costs of Capitalism and many see Marx as the symbol for that.

I think you could say that the collapse of Soviet Union has eliminated a lot of silly talk because it eliminated a convenient scape goat when it came to showing how our own glorious system was diametrically opposite to it. Nonetheless, as the fall of the US is showing, and the rise of labor exploitation in China and India show, Marx's critique of the costs of capitalist development still has merit.

Answer 2

Communism is an artificial economic theory that supports the planned economy. Dialectical materialism can be summed up as the following:


"German political philosopher Karl Marx applied the concept of dialectic to social and economic processes. Marx's so-called dialectical materialism, frequently considered to be a revision of the Hegelian system, asserts that ideas can arise only as a result of a material condition."

Left-wing political activists are generally not business people and do not have a good grasp of economics. Supporters of this world view generally regard capitalism as exploitation and do not study the mechanics of economic theory. To supporters before the advent of communism, it seems like a utopian concept and it is simplistic. It appeals to people living in Third World conditions. There is not a lot to support communism as a viable economic theory.

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Answer 3

Dialectical Materialism is an absurd idea. It is basically the idea that if things get really bad, there will be a bounce in the other direction.

If it were valid, America would have elected a libertarian president by now to clean up the mess of a 150 years of Socialism (interrupted only by Grover Cleveland).