LO 3: Marx’s Dialectical Method
Centrality of Contradiction:
Unlike traditional philosophies that view contradictions as errors, Marx’s dialectic
treats contradictions as existing in reality. Understanding reality requires studying the
development and resolution of these contradictions.
Materialist Basis:
While Hegel focused on contradictions in thought, Marx applied the dialectic to real,
material social relations. He believed these contradictions are resolved through "life-
and-death struggle" that changes the social world.
Fact and Value Intertwined:
Marx rejected the idea of a "dispassionate" sociology. In dialectical analysis, social
values cannot be separated from social facts; the study of society is inherently value-
laden and geared toward solving human problems.
Reciprocal Relations:
This method rejects simple, one-way cause-and-effect. Instead, it focuses on
reciprocal influences between different parts of the social world (e.g., how capitalist
exploitation increases worker militancy, which in turn may cause capitalists to
become more exploitative).
, Historical Perspective:
Dialecticians study the historical roots of the present to understand contemporary
reality and identify future possibilities for social change.
Political Possibilism:
Marx was not a "historical inevitabilist" but a "political possibilist." He believed the
future is not determined but depends on the choices and struggles of human actors
within limited circumstances.
LO4: Key Concepts of Marx’s Theory of Society
Human Potential and Labor:
Species Being: The uniquely human power to produce through conscious,
purposive activity.
Objectification: The process where labour creates external objects that
originally existed in the worker's imagination.
Transformation: Labor is a social activity that transforms both the material
world and human nature and needs over time.
1. Alienation: Under capitalism, the natural relation between labour and human
nature is perverted.
Centrality of Contradiction:
Unlike traditional philosophies that view contradictions as errors, Marx’s dialectic
treats contradictions as existing in reality. Understanding reality requires studying the
development and resolution of these contradictions.
Materialist Basis:
While Hegel focused on contradictions in thought, Marx applied the dialectic to real,
material social relations. He believed these contradictions are resolved through "life-
and-death struggle" that changes the social world.
Fact and Value Intertwined:
Marx rejected the idea of a "dispassionate" sociology. In dialectical analysis, social
values cannot be separated from social facts; the study of society is inherently value-
laden and geared toward solving human problems.
Reciprocal Relations:
This method rejects simple, one-way cause-and-effect. Instead, it focuses on
reciprocal influences between different parts of the social world (e.g., how capitalist
exploitation increases worker militancy, which in turn may cause capitalists to
become more exploitative).
, Historical Perspective:
Dialecticians study the historical roots of the present to understand contemporary
reality and identify future possibilities for social change.
Political Possibilism:
Marx was not a "historical inevitabilist" but a "political possibilist." He believed the
future is not determined but depends on the choices and struggles of human actors
within limited circumstances.
LO4: Key Concepts of Marx’s Theory of Society
Human Potential and Labor:
Species Being: The uniquely human power to produce through conscious,
purposive activity.
Objectification: The process where labour creates external objects that
originally existed in the worker's imagination.
Transformation: Labor is a social activity that transforms both the material
world and human nature and needs over time.
1. Alienation: Under capitalism, the natural relation between labour and human
nature is perverted.
