dialectical materialism

American  

noun

1. a form of materialism, developed chiefly by Karl Marx, noted especially for the application of the Hegelian dialectic in its philosophy of history.

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dialectical materialism British  

noun

1. the economic, political, and philosophical system of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that combines traditional materialism and Hegelian dialectic

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Other Word Forms

• dialectical materialist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of dialectical materialism

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Marx proposed an alternative to the Hegelian dialectic, called dialectical materialism.

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

The autobiography has little to say about dialectical materialism, social fascism, or the Popular Front.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 22, 2016

When I discovered him as an art student in the late 1950s he was serious about life and death, an intellectual who believed in dialectical materialism and all that.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2016

He was born in communist Yugoslavia in 1949, and received a thorough grounding in Marxism and the principles of "dialectical materialism".

From The Guardian • Jun. 27, 2012

I was attracted to the scientific underpinnings of dialectical materialism, for I am always inclined to trust what I can verify.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela