historical materialism

noun

(in Marxist theory) the doctrine that all forms of social thought, as art or philosophy, and institutions, as the family or the state, develop as a superstructure founded on an economic base; that they reflect the character of economic relations and are altered or modified as a result of class struggles; that each ruling economic class produces the class that will destroy or replace it; and that dialectical necessity requires the eventual withering away of the state and the establishment of a classless society: the body of theory, in dialectical materialism, dealing with historical process and social causation.

Content related to historical materialism

5 Important Historical Events That Changed Language Major events in history have not only changed the world in significant ways, but they have also transformed the ways we speak. So, we wanted to share a few words we still use today that actually came about in an interesting historical way.

Words nearby historical materialism

historic places trust, historical, historical fiction, historical geology, historical linguistics, historical materialism, historical method, historical novel, historical present, historical school, historical sociology

Compare economic determinism.

Origin of historical materialism

First recorded in 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for historical materialism

historical materialism

noun

the part of Marxist theory maintaining that social structures derive from economic structures and that these are transformed as a result of class struggles, each ruling class producing another, which will overcome and destroy it, the final phase being the emergence of a communist society

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