historical materialism

noun

1. (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.

historical materialism

noun

1. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of historical materialism¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

The most notable portion of this work is the preface, which contains the first statement of the theory of historical materialism.

From Project Gutenberg

By its core, historical materialism, it gains a wholly new theory of social evolution that forms its chief content.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus our philosophy forms the theoretical basis of historical materialism.

From Project Gutenberg

This book is indispensable to an understanding of the theoretical origin of historical materialism.

From Project Gutenberg

On all sides and from all camps protests arise and objections are urged against historical materialism.

From Project Gutenberg