Q.Make a difference between Marxian dialectical materialism and Hegel's dialectics.
Ans. As such Marx's dialectical materialism differs from Hegel's dialectics because whereas, For Hegel the ultimate reality is reason or spirit; for Marx it is matter in motion. According to Hegel, the historical development takes place under the stress of conflict between nations; its moving force is ideas.
Marx on the other hand holds that the causes of historical development are economic causes and not nations. The goal towards which the dialectical materialism is moving is the society perfectly organised for production in which there shall be no class distinctions and no exploitation. Marx himself said, in the famous passage in the introduction to the first volume of Das Kapital, "My own dialectical method is not only different from Hegel. but is its direction opposite." Laws of Dialectics and its adoption by Karl Marx
Marx differed from Hegel in dialectics, yet he adopted this attitude in order to run Hegeh'an dialectics right side up, otherwise he took from Hegel the apparatus of the dialectic. Like Hegel's Dialectics, Marx also based his dialectical materialism on the three laws of Dialectics as defined by Hegel.
1. The Law of Transformation of Quantity Into Quality and vice-versa: This principle lays down that changes take place by quantitative transformation until there crops up a point that Hegel describes the 'node' beyond which a thing cannot change while remaining the same. Here classical example of a change in the state of substance can be quoted. For example, water turns to steam at 100°C and into ice at 0°C. But just as the change takes place abruptly so the water is at one moment water and at the next steam and at another ice. Similarly the progress of humanity is not brought about by a gradual process of growth. On the contrary the progress in the society is effected by sudden 'jumps'. Marx describes the jumps as the revolution. He applies the above principle to show the inevitability of the change in the society. According to Marx, monopoly capitalist which represents the last stage beyond which capitalism no longer develops is not something gradually evolved. It b qualitatively different though the ground for it has been prepared by the quantitative changes. It can further be said that after having come into existence, it will also develop quantitatively until a stage is reached, when the dialectical leap or jump takes place and it is transformed into socialism.apot The Law of the Unity of Opposites: The second law, on
2. which Marx's dialectical materialism is based, is the law of the Unity of opposites. In this, he points out that not only there is contradictory nature of reality but also the contradictions, which exist in a society, operate in unity. There is no doubt that we cannot achieve unity of the opposites but Marx believes that is each society there are the positive and the negative forces. These two, far from being opposite, represent no absolute difference. It is just like a road as a road to the East is also a road to the West. As science has proved that each unit or unity contains within itself, polar opposites such as the positive and the negative poles of the electron, these two opposites are inter-dependent. In the same way, asserts Marx, in a capitalist society there are two opposites, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. These two are no doubt opposed to each other, yet they are inter connected and cannot develop without the help of each other. Thus, Marx makes use of the contradictioons to explain the evolution and growth of the society. This plays such an important role in the thought of Marx that Lenin describes it "the salt of the dialectics".
3. The Law of Negation of the Negation: Marx, like Hegel, asserts the thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis are the various stages of evolution. The thesis falls to the ground and breaks on account of its internal contradictions. It, in turn, paves the way for the anti-thesis. tries to remove the existing contradictions. The anti-thesis also breaks down and gives away to synthesis, i.e. after the break-down of the anti-thesis, synthesis is evolved and developed. The synthsis negates the anti-thesis, synthesis is evolved and developed. The synthesis negates the anti-thesis which was the first negation of negation.On the basis of the above three laws Marx explains the changes in the society, which according to him, are inevitable. The above trio formula of Marx, i.e. thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis, finds expression and representation in the form of feudalism, capitalism and socialism. The internal contradictions of the feudalist society give away to its negation represented by capitalism. It is a sort of advance on the earlier stage of society, then in capitalism itself there are again contradictions in the form of class struggle and antagonisms. These contradictions lead to a new advance in the society represented by socialism. So socialism which arises out of capitalism, is the negation of negation.
