Dialectic and Materialism

Materialism and dialectic are important in Marx and Engels.

Simply put, materialism is thinking and consideration based on actual facts.

Dialectics is thinking and consideration based on the fact that things are not fixed from beginning to end, but are changing.

Examples of these exist all around us.It is the universe, the earth, nature, and life.The idea that opposes these is idealism. Idealism is the idea that ''the spirit cannot be explained by science, so the spirit is at the root of everything.''

Engels argued that "spirit is matter". The science of the universe and life that Engels referred to is currently being rapidly elucidated.

Let me introduce an easy-to-understand application example using the words of Engels.

We are free to enjoy ghosts and psychic phenomena in movies, but there is no need to be afraid of ghosts and psychic phenomena in real life.

Because they don't actually exist.

Dialectics and materialism seem like commonplace ideas at first glance, but in reality they are neglected in modern society.For example, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party quotes the origin of the Japanese archipelago from a fairy tale (the land of the gods) and teaches it in schools across the country.

(The above is Harada's explanation. The following is an excerpt from the book)

"Marx Benshohokan no sinka o saguru(Exploring the evolution of Marx's dialectical view)"　by Tetsuzo Fuwa/2020/Shinnihon Shuppansha

This book is a comprehensive study of Marx's drafts.

Neither dialectic nor materialism were invented by Marx. Marx and Engels verified and developed what was defined by several philosophers including Hegel.
(Similarly, montage was not created by Eisenstein. Previous research exists. Eisenstein developed previous research.)


Marx wrote little about his own dialectic. It was only written in the afterword of the re-released Das Kapital.

If anything, Engels wrote more about dialectics.

Engels explained dialectics by citing natural science.
What Marx and Engels have in common is the ''dialectic method of materialism''.
In other words, it did not build his theory based on fantasy, but based on "what actually existed, the facts of real society.''

The two stimulated each other intellectually and proposed many theories.

Moritz Kaufmann says.
"Marx proves social relationships through accurate scientific research. Whether people believe or not, whether they are conscious of it or not, is completely irrelevant.''

Incidentally, Lenin and Engels apparently never had a chance to meet directly.