Activities

1. Exploring the Concept of Historical Materialism

The materialist conception of history starts from the proposition that the production of the means to support human life and, next to production, the exchange of things produced, is the basis of all social structure; that in every society that has appeared in history, the manner in which wealth is distributed and society divided into classes or orders is dependent upon what is produced, how it is produced, and how the products are exchanged. From this point of view, the final causes of all social changes and political revolutions are to be sought, not in men's brains, not in men's better insights into eternal truth and justice, but in changes in the modes of production and exchange. They are to be sought, not in the philosophy, but in the economics of each particular epoch. The growing perception that existing social institutions are unreasonable and unjust, that reason has become unreason, and right wrong, is only proof that in the modes of production and exchange changes have silently taken place with which the social order, adapted to earlier economic conditions, is no longer in keeping. From this it also follows that the means of getting rid of the incongruities that have been brought to light must also be present, in a more or less developed condition, within the changed modes of production themselves. These means are not to be invented by deduction from fundamental principles, but are to be discovered in the stubborn facts of the existing system of production.

Please answer these questions:

1. What does Engels mean by a "materialist" conception of history?
2. According to Engels, what is the most important determinant of social structures?
3. Why are insight and truth not primarily to be found in people's brains?
4. Is Engels's reasoning primarily an example of inductive or deductive reasoning? Explain your answer.

2. Separating Fact from Opinion

1. Economic considerations are the sole determinant of history.
2. All of the market value of goods is created by Labor.
3. Employers always take advantage of their workers.
4. Some workers in industrial societies live on subsistence-level wages.
5. Throughout the world, most capital and land are controlled by a small percentage of the population.
6. The consumer is very important to a society's economic well-being.
7. Supply and demand determine prices in countries that have adopted the ideas of Karl Marx.
8. Decisions concerning the production of wealth are made by the government in communist nations.
9. Land and Capital respond differently to increases in demand.
10. Competition among capitalists will cause some of their businesses to fail.
11. Profits from capital will fall as capitalists use more machinery for production.

3. Researching Labor Conditions

Divide the class into small groups (3-4 students) and assign each group one of the countries below. Ask the groups to research labor conditions in that country, focusing on the four following areas. Have each group present their findings in a five-minute talk.

1. Work: wages, working hours, conditions, union activity, salaries, boycotts, fringe benefits, government laws relating to workers.
2. Living: housing, diet, clothing, transportation, medical care, recreation, entertainment.
3. Economic system: government powers, overall standard of living, conditions of workers in comparison with other segments of that society.
4. Worker Satisfaction: Each group should determine, using a scale of one to ten, if the workers in that country are content with their working conditions.

Countries: France, United States, Great Britain, Russia, Argentina, Nigeria, China, India, Cuba (Use others from diverse areas of the world if more groups are needed.)

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