Karl Marx - 200 Years On - Professor Gareth Stedman Jones

TL;DR

Marx and Engels initially aligned themselves with Darwin's theory, but Marx's later writings reveal a fundamental distinction between history and nature.

Transcript

well I'm going to talk today about the relationship between history and nature in Marx Engels and Darwin it's been an enduring subject because angles aligned marks very much with Darwin and throughout the 20th century that tended to be the standard view so anyway I'm going to put some put something forward which is rather different that Marx's grav... Read More

Key Insights

• 🙈 Marx and Engels initially aligned themselves with Darwin's theory, seeing parallels between the laws of development in nature and human history.
• 👻 The alignment between Marx and Darwin allowed for the establishment of a deterministic view of history.
• 🥺 However, Marx's theory of history fundamentally contradicts Darwin's conception of nature, leading to a reevaluation of their initial alignment.
• 🧑‍🏭 Marx believed in a sharp distinction between history and nature, emphasizing human activity and conscious life as crucial factors in shaping history.
• 🤗 Engels, on the other hand, saw history and nature as interconnected, with history subject to the same Darwinian struggle as nature.
• 🧘 The differences between Marx and Engels on the relationship between history and nature had deeper roots in their philosophical and political positions.
• 🤳 Marx's belief in a sharp distinction between history and nature was influenced by German idealism and his emphasis on human agency and self-activity.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did Marx associate his theory of history with Darwin's theory?

Marx may have initially aligned himself with Darwin to establish a convincing coupling between his theory and a deterministic view of history. This alignment between the two theories allowed for the possibility of a materials conception of history.

Q: How did Engels view Darwin's work?

Engels admired Darwin's theory and saw it as a confirmation of his own beliefs about the dialectical laws of motion in history. He believed that Darwin's theory of evolution could be extended to understanding modern industry and the world market.

Q: Did Marx and Engels have different views on the relationship between history and nature?

Yes, Marx and Engels had different views. Marx believed in a sharp distinction between history and nature, emphasizing the role of human activity and conscious life in shaping history. Engels, on the other hand, saw history and nature as interconnected, with history being subject to the same Darwinian struggle as nature.

Q: Why did Marx distance himself from Darwin's theory later in his life?

Marx did not believe that Darwin's theory could account for the distinctiveness of human history and the role of human agency in shaping it. He saw history as a product of human activity and conscious life, not determined by natural laws in the same way as nature.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Marx and Engels were initially associated with Darwin and the idea of the development of organic nature.

• The belief in the continuity between Marx's and Darwin's theories allowed for the establishment of a deterministic view of history.

• However, Marx's theory of history contradicts Darwin's conception of nature, leading to questions about why Marx and Engels initially aligned themselves with Darwin.