A few questions

[TheGodlessUtopian]

A few questions.

#1: What is dialectics and dialectical materialism?

#2: What is the marxist definition of 'reformers' and what are the differences between reformers and revolutionaries?

Thanks for your time.

[fa2991]

#1: What is dialectics and dialectical materialism?

I'm no expert. I don't want to give my definition and end up messing up what it actually is. :blushing:


#2: What is the marxist definition of 'reformers' and what are the differences between reformers and revolutionaries?


Reformists are people who alter or change Marxist theories to the point that they no longer represent socialism, but instead capitalism. An example of a reformist would be Deng Xiapong, who delivered China back into capitalism's hands under the guise of Marxism.

[MarxSchmarx]

#2: What is the marxist definition of 'reformers' and what are the differences between reformers and revolutionaries? Reformists are people who alter or change Marxist theories to the point that they no longer represent socialism, but instead capitalism. An example of a reformist would be Deng Xiapong, who delivered China back into capitalism's hands under the guise of Marxism.

The term as it is used today actually refers more precisely to people who see reforms for the demands of the working class within capitalism, rather than replacing capitalism altogether, as sufficient.

[fa2991]

The term as it is used today actually refers more precisely to people who see reforms for the demands of the working class within capitalism, rather than replacing capitalism altogether, as sufficient.

:lol: I accidentally defined revisionism instead of reformism! My bad.

[ContrarianLemming]

No one dares try answers the dialectic material question :)

truth is, no one knows!

[ZombieGrits]

phew... well dialectics as I know it (that is to say, not very well :D) goes something like this: the progress of history is this -

1) Thesis
2) Antithesis
3) Synthesis

The materialism comes in as all of these being strictly physical/economic conditions, not cultural or other social, like in Hegelian dialectics. The "thesis" is the existing economic order of an era, the "antithesis" is the reaction against it, and the "synthesis" is a middle ground between the two that becomes the thesis for the next era

someone please proofread this, if i made a mistake i'd like to be corrected :lol:

[ZombieGrits]

and btw, if it doesn't make sense to you, don't worry about it. like the guys before me have said, not too many people understand it, and a few (myself included) think its just a load of bollocks :D

[mikelepore]

REFORM means social change that keeps the same political or economic system fundamentally, but alters some details. REVOLUTION means a conversion to a fundamentally different political or economic system.

An example of this contrast is seen in Marx's comment: "Instead of the conservative motto, 'a fair day's wage for a fair day's work!' they ought to inscribe on their banner the revolutionary watchword, 'abolition of the wages system!'" (from "Value, Price and Profit", 1865)

[Zanthorus]

#1: What is dialectics and dialectical materialism?

Well the first thing to keep in mind would be that it is explicitly not:


1) Thesis
2) Antithesis
3) Synthesis

This is the traditional view of Hegel's dialectic, which was thought to be accurate for much of the past century or so, but actually the only reference to "thesis, anthesis, synthesis" in Hegel is when he attributes this mode of thought to Kant. The problem with this formula is that it makes the elements of the dialectic look like objects which collide with each other, but for Hegel, the contradictions are internal contradictions.

To illustrate it better, we can look at the first transition made in the Phenomenology of Spirit between 'sense-certainty' and 'perception'. The main character of Hegel's book, consciousness, starts off at the mode of consciousness known as 'sense-certainty' whereby our knowledge of the world comes from direct sense-experience. But immediately this mode of consciousness runs into problems. Whenever the 'naive empiricist' points to an object which they apparently have knowledge of, it becomes difficult to show that this is actually knowledge. We can have no knowledge of what is simple or complex in an object without a consideration of context, and consideration of context introduces concepts which do not come from immediate sense-experience. No thing can ever be known without the use of universals. 'Sense-certainty' therefore cannot satisfy it's own conditions, and comes into contradiction with itself. It is then superceeded by a new mode of consciousness, 'perception', which does take account of universals.

So a general formula for Hegel's dialectic would be - We start with an initial stage of immediate harmony. But this immediate harmony cannot satisfy it's own conditions for existence, it comes into contradiction with it's own basis. This contradiction eventually produces a supersession, but this supersession is not just a casting away of the original stage. The supersession takes account of the reason for the existence of the original stage, and incorporates it as a 'moment' in the new harmony which has been produced.

Dialectical materialism is the philosophy created by Georgi Plekhanov which was characteristic of much of Soviet Marxism. It involves a crude attachment of some of the 'laws' layed down in Hegel's Science of Logic with the 18th century 'contemplative materialism' of figures like Holbach and Helvetius. Apparently Mao made some additional contributions to this 'theory', although I can't really say since most of his writing is incomprehensible gibberish. Probably the primary example is Stalin's Dialectical and Historical Materialism.

I would not worry all that much about 'dialectical' 'materialism'... that is... if you want to keep your sanity.

[el_chavista]

#1: What is dialectics and dialectical materialism?

#2: What is the marxist definition of 'reformers' and what are the differences between reformers and revolutionaries?

#1 Dialectic is a philosophic method which came from German philosophy, one of the sources and components parts of Marxism (see Lenin's pamphlet: three sources and three component parts of Marxism). Marx was a jung Hegelian who took the dialectical method but disdained the idealistic approach in Hegel's philosophy and substituted it with Feurbach's materialism.
Dialectical materialism is Marx's philosophy.

#2 Reformers are politicians who want to ameliorate capitalism so that it overcomes its innate problems of injustice and inequalities. The main difference is that reformers think they can do this without a socialist revolution whilst Marxists state the necessity to overthrow the bourgeois class as a condition to cope with capitalist inequalities and injustices.