The superstructure includes institutions of society such as family, the media and politics. The relationship between the superstructure and the base is two-way as one has an impact on the other, “The superstructure reflects, protects, organizes and strengthens the base.” (Institute for the Study of the Science of Society) When Marx speaks of “material productive forces” he is referring to technology (Hughes et al. 2003). Technology develops due to the fact that human needs are never really satisfied. As it advances, the modes of production also change- if for example a job once took six men to complete, the introduction of machinery may mean that only 2 men are needed to complete the same job. This leads to a more efficient economy and therefore a more efficient society. It also leads to a need to redefine class. Marx believes the development of technology directly relates to social organisation- the more advanced technology is, the more advanced society is. “The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society.” (Marx, 1859:38, cited in Hughes et al. 2003). This could explain why in the time of Marx there were two clear groups, the bourgeois and the proletariat whereas now class distinctions are not as obvious.
Whereas Hegel would have said that humans think independently, Marx says that this is untrue as social class effects how people think. “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but…their social being that determines their consciousness.” (Marx, 1859:38, cited in Hughes et al. 2003). Through ideology, the bourgeoisie pass on their own values and ideas as the norm to the proletariat. In this way the latter do not always realise that they are being exploited. It has however been argued that the working class know they are being exploited but, due to the fact they are perfectly happy with their situation, they don’t do anything about it. Therefore it could be said that there is in fact no real exploitation taking place. Each man is fully aware of the role he functions within the confines of his society.
Marx believed that every society would eventually end with communism. It would pass through stages such as feudalism and capitalism, which is the state in which the majority of the world find themselves to be in at this moment in time, but always end in the same place. These stages would be advanced to through a series of rebellions where the proletariat become ‘aware’ and fight for their rights. Take for example the French Revolution of 1789-99 when the French monarchy was overthrown. This revolution took place shortly before Marx and Engels were born and could be used to explain much or their theories and beliefs. “What, after all, would Marx and Engels have been had it not been for the French Revolution?” (Kreis, 2000). The Transition form capitalism to communism would occur when the working-class realise that the amount they are paid does not relate to the amount the bourgeois gain in profits from their skills. They find that the money the are given is no longer enough to sustain themselves in the way they were able to previously. Capitalists become greedy as their wealth increases and focus on investing new technology rather than in labour.
The working-class would form unions and strike in order to gain higher wages and/or shorter hours. These strikes tend to be ineffective and make very little difference but Marx argues that as the working classes far out number the capitalists, they will unite forming socialist groups and over throw them.
In short historical materialism is Marx’s development of Hegel’s theory of history, dialectics, applied to society to describe the way in which it changes over time.
Bibliography
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Hughes, JA., Sharrock, WW. and Martin, PJ. (2003) Understanding Classical Social Theory, London, Thousand Oaks, and New Delhi: Sage Publications
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Institute for the Study of the Science of Society (1994), “Base and Superstructure
Society – How and Why Transformation is Possible @ [Accessed on 09/11/04]
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Kreis, S. (2000) The History Guide, “The French Revolution and the Socialist Tradition: Early French Communists (1)” @ [Accessed on 12/11/04]
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O’Donnell, M. (1997) Introduction to Sociology London: Nelson
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Steir, M. “Capitalism to Communism “ @ [Accessed on 12/11/04]
