story Talk This page has some issues The Marxist theory of historical materialism understands society as fundamentally determined by the material conditions at any given time - this means the relationships which people enter into with one another in order to fulfill their basic needs, for instance to feed and clothe themselves and their families.[1] In general Marx and Engels identified five successive stages of the development of these material conditions in Western Europe.[2] Private propertyEdit The Marxist concept of private property gives the basis for Marxs theory. Private property in the terminology of Marxs time, for Marx himself, and for Marxists sometimes today, does not mean the simple possessions of a person, but the ownership of productive property or property which produces a profit for the owner,[3] such as corporate ownership, share ownership, land ownership, and - in the case of slave society - slave ownership (since slaves work the land, mines and other means of producing the material means of existence). The stages of history Edit Marx saw that each stage or epoch created a new class or invention that would lead to its downfall. However the downfall would not be an automatically negative event, since with each step humanity at large would benefit. Each passing stage would therefore raise the standard of living of the masses while at the same time be doomed to its own downfall because of internal contradictions and class conflicts. Only the last two epochs are spared from this fate. With socialism the final oppressive class is overthrown and society is put under the dictatorship of the proletariat and thus advances into communism. The first three stages are not given particular attention, since by Marxs time they had long come to pass. As such, he does not provide the principles of these stages as he does for capitalism and the stages that follow. However these epochs have common characteristics nonetheless. Primitive CommunismEdit The First Stage: is usually called Primitive communism. It has the following characteristics. Shared property: there is no concept of ownership beyond individual possessions. All is shared by the tribe to ensure its survival.[citation needed] Hunting and gathering: tribal societies have yet to develop large scale agriculture and so their survival is a daily struggle.[citation needed] Proto-democracy: there is usually no concept of leadership yet. So tribes are led by the best warrior if there is war, the best diplomat if they have steady contact with other tribes and so forth.[citation needed] The primitive communism stage most likely begins soon after the dawn of humanity itself, at the stage where fire is developed, and communal living therefore becomes more convenient.[citation needed] Primitive communist societies tend to be very small, consisting of a maximum of a few hundred members, with size being dependent upon the environment. In this stage humanity is no different from any other animal, in that it has not yet found ways to bend nature to its will. This stage ends with the development of private property[citation needed], especially with the development of large scale agriculture. This in turn produces productive property, such as cattle and slaves.[citation needed] Slave SocietyEdit The Second Stage: may be called Slave Society, considered to be the beginning of class society where private property appears. Class: here the idea of class appears. There is always a slave-owning ruling class and the slaves themselves. Statism: the state develops during this stage as a tool for the slave-owners to use and control the slaves. Agriculture: people learn to cultivate plants and animals on a large enough scale to support large populations. Democracy and Authoritarianism: these opposites develop at the same stage. Democracy arises first with the development of the republican city-state, followed by the totalitarian empire. Private Property: citizens now own more than personal property. Land ownership is especially important during a time of agricultural development.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 20:57:45 +0000
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