Karl Marx’s Historical Materialism
Social Existence
Historical materialism is an ideology developed by Karl Marx, holding that the production of thoughts and realizations of man do not determine how they exist in society, but rather it is how the society produces materials that determine the thoughts and realizations of man[1]. This article will aim to further explore why Marx believes social existence informs human consciousness. And, will launch an exploration into the validity of the criticism of the lack of free agency, if any, in Marx’s Historical Materialism theory. However, before understanding how the human consciousness develops, we must first establish what Marx means concerning social existence. According to Marx, the Mode of Production is the dominant feature behind a society's development. The idea is that humans rely on production to live. In ancient times man relied on the production of food, water, and shelter to maintain a successful social existence[2]. Without these essential means of production, man would fail to survive.
As a society's mode of production increases, the relationship of the individual to the production changes[3]. For example, in ancient times humans had to play the essential role of hunter-gatherer to obtain food and water to survive. All of the humans within that community contributed equally because there was an equal advantage; survival. However, as the means of production changed, and production was organized into niche groups the advantages and disadvantages of those groups became diverse and spurred on a hierarchical class system in society[4]. The overwhelming difference between these two modes of production is that one cultivated a level playing field where all contributions and payoffs were equal, while another gave license to conflicting interests with unequal contributions. Marx believes that the shifts and development of the mode of production of a material society is directly correlated to the shift in human social awareness.
Consciousness
With consideration to the social existence in relation to the Mode of Production, the consciousness of man is surely affected. Marx claims that “material life conditions the general process of social, political, and intellectual life”[5]. This is to say that the mode of production; how society produces, and the forces of production; how instruments, natural resources, and labor work together to create product, all affect the daily mental psychosis of man[6]. If we use the former hypothetical of the mode of production in ancient times, where hunter-gatherers were the sole means of production, we would be able to see that the mental consciousness of an ancient man would not need to concern himself with thoughts of political adversity or championing for social reform. However as modes and forces of production revolutionize throughout history, we see a shift in how production and labor is categorized, thus dividing the former community of workers into two categories: those who work for capital, and those who own capital. This streamlining and outsourcing of production, ultimately led to a change in human-conscious behavior, as new advantages and disadvantages to production arose.
These aspects of thought considering societal reform and politics are just the beginning of describing the change in the stream of consciousness of man as the mode of production slowly becomes more secular and specialized in modern-day society. While a man in ancient times may consider greater philosophical questions, those thoughts are not essential to his survival because the forces of production are contributed equally by fellow members of his society[7]. In fact, in a study conducted by Stanford, scholars found that consciousness may be so well connected to the social existence of man that “men in the Trojan War did not experience themselves as unified internal subjects of their thoughts and actions, at least not in the way we do today”[8]. This is to say that consciousness as a process in and of itself could have reasonably developed over a set historical period as the mode and means of production shifted. In other words, the scarcity or plentifulness of society and how man interacts with that society causes the thoughts of man, and his consciousness to be arranged differently[9]. This belief held by Marx furthers the notion that it is what man sees that he believes, and his consciousness will inevitably be changed by his social existence in the material world.
Free Agency
In the same vein, criticisms of Marx’s Historical Materialism grossly stem from the notion that the shift of consciousness by way of societal existence, and thus mode of production, leaves a man without free agency. This objection is certainly based on merit, as it takes Marx’s ideology blatantly. If the outside world ultimately has a hand in determining the ideas of man, then the originality of thought is strictly undermined. Marx’s theory operates under the guise that as the human race develops and as the mode of production shifts, so too does his consciousness[10]. One could argue that if external factors play a large, and ultimate part, in decision-making on behalf of the individual, then how free of agents are we?
This interpretation of Marx’ argument also opens up a type of cyclical timeline where, in theory, humans have always been controlled by production, and that at no point in human genealogy has an individual’s consciousness been just that: individual. The character of a free agent is rooted in two diverse beliefs, the first being that a free agent can operate without the limitations of a third party, the second being that a free agent can choose how to produce labor and whom to produce labor for[11]. This criticism would only apply the first definition of free agency because this criticism argues that Marx considers all conscious thoughts of humans to be indicative of their social existence, which would inherently mean that any third party or environmental conditions like mode of production would discount any individual as a free agent under Marx’s belief. Alternatively, the second definition of a free agent would free Marx’s argument from this criticism because it supports the belief of Marx that individuals have free agency to choose what, when, and for whom their labor is produced for society.
Criticism
Overall, I find the claim above, concerning that Marx’s Historical Materialism theory overtly declines the ability of humans' free agency, as non-compelling. Marx claims that the social mode of production affects the psyche of man, yes. However, man can act with free agency. For example, an individual can exercise free agency by deciding where to drive their vehicle and what turns to make on that drive, these decisions are unaffected by a third party. Yet, their ability to make decisions and how they exercise those decisions is largely based on the mode of production. Marx does not claim that humans operate without societal considerations like the mode of production, but rather have the consciousness to choose how they contribute to the means of production[12]. This would include things like how you combine an instrument with a resource, and committing labor for a wage.
Therefore, it is important to emphasize that everyone in a modern-day capitalist marketplace is seeking to further their material interests. Whether that be through negotiating a higher wage per hour of labor, or lobbying for a particular official to be elected. Further, as in many social contract frameworks, the exercising of free agency by the individual is largely determined by gross utility. This is to say that Marx’s theory supports the free agency and individual consciousness of an individual, but does not negate the historical progression of the world and how shifts in mode of production determine the ultimately “free agent” decisions man makes.
References
Cambridge University, Free Agent | English Meaning, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-agent. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
H. Alrah. [halim alrah]. (2021, August 13). Historical Materialism Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwwfcQ5FA
K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
R. Van Gulick, "Consciousness", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/consciousness/.
Footnotes
[1] K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
[2] H. Alrah. [halim alrah]. (2021, August 13). Historical Materialism Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwwfcQ5FA
[3] K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
[4] H. Alrah. [halim alrah]. (2021, August 13). Historical Materialism Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwwfcQ5FA
[5] K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
[6] H. Alrah. [halim alrah]. (2021, August 13). Historical Materialism Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwwfcQ5FA
[7] H. Alrah. [halim alrah]. (2021, August 13). Historical Materialism Explained [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVWwwfcQ5FA
[8] R. Van Gulick, "Consciousness", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/consciousness/.
[9] K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
[10] K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique Of Political Economy, in S.M. Cahn, ed., Classics of Modern Political Theory, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 891
[11] Cambridge University, Free Agent | English Meaning, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-agent.
[12] Cambridge University, Free Agent | English Meaning, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-agent.