What are the lines of convergence and divergence between idealist and materialist conception of history

Idealism conception of history deals with thoughts or ideas in understanding issues pertaining in the society. Kant for instance came up with the idea of “Absolute mind”. To him what is reality is in the mind, and thus the development of historical knowledge is based in self awareness as free and under morally and politically able to govern itself independently. Hegel alike took the idea of Kant in explain the idea of mind objectification. 

Materialist on the other hand can be explained as the school of thought that deals with material things. For them what is reality is what is observable and for that matter they derive their thinking and understanding of history from material possession in understanding the society. The pioneers of this school of thought are Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels. Both Marx and Engels emphasize on practical changes, which is to bring changes in the society through fighting exploitation of man by man which actually exists in the bourgeoisie class. To them development of any society is the product of class struggle.

The idealist historian seems to look at the question differently from Marxist historian. However, both schools of thought have similarity when comparing the content that guides them, and the difference which has been the most usual kind of exchange between the two camps. The below are the lines of convergence between Materialist conception of history and Idealist conception of history.  

Both Materialist and Idealist meet in dialectic conception of history, Marx proud himself by the using dialectic understanding of history whereby he stood on it, starting his thought from nature to idea. Hegel as the founder of this idea begins explaining dialectic conception from thought to nature, and that he argues that, “material things are the product of mind”.

Both Idealist and Materialist meet in explain the idea of freedom, Marx wrote man’s freedom in the society that they should be free from economic restriction, political and social restriction and that they should be given equal opportunities in both production and sharing of the produced products hence man should be free from exploitation. Alike the idealist scholars explain freedom in term of soul and spirit, and that man’s freedom is the same as consciousness of his freedom which to successive life, that is development. 

Both materialist historians and idealist historian write history of universal history of mankind. Both Marx and Hegel argues that man’s freedom is the same thing as his consciousness of his freedom, Fichte one of the idealist historian argued that, so the development of freedom is development in which the various necessary phases or moments of the concept are successively achieved.

Both materialist and idealist make analysis of the society in term of economic and social structure, idealist school of thought study the capitalist society so as to make analysis of its development in term of industrial development and social division. And in the same way the Marxist school of thought would prefer to make an analysis of the economic structure of proletariat society.

Both stand in peculiar and differing relationships to the societies, in which they occur. The bourgeois or idealist school of thought write about liberal European society, and the Marxist wrote about the proletariat society, therefore both scholars write about what is happen in their own society, which men produce history of their own.

Both Idealist and Marxist believed to the existence of social classes in the society, Marx himself declare that he cannot boost on the idea of classes in the society for idealist historian had describe about it already, Marx believed that, the existence of classes is directly linked to specific historical stages in production methods, that class struggle will inevitably lead to a dictatorship of the proletariat. Alike the idealist believed on the upper class; that is kingly class, merchant class and the class lay under security.

The following are the lines of divergences between Idealist and Materialist conception of history;

Marxist conception of history rose direct opposition to idealist conception of history, for example Hegel who proclaim the idea of spiritual way of understanding history in his philosophy of history, Marxist historians underpin the argument of spiritual understanding and emphasize on material conception and revolutionary action in the society .

Idealist school of thought believed in ideas when explaining things, nature is the product of the mind. Idealist school believed that what happens to be material is the product of idea of the mind. While materialism school of thought perceive historical knowledge from material point of view to thought. For example materialist historian would explaining France revolution in way that people were tired of the extravagancy ruling system of the monarchy, the government being living luxurious life, economic hardship, people had found themselves waging revolution against the system into power. 

Marxist conception of history perceives the world history as a series of class struggles. Marxist believed that man in the society is subjected to exploitation of man by man; hence the only solution to curb this problem is through class struggle. While the Idealist school of thought believed that exploitative class is in the side with progressive advancement in production and that the group replacing one another in accordance with the laws.

Idealist conception of history differs radically and irreconcilably, the bourgeois class cannot agree that at one time there will be a society with no differentiation, and that there is no ruling power or system, that is the exploitative class which is to the states, a world society, for that matter the bourgeois class resist the idea of communism in the world which is pioneered by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels.

Marxist conception of history believed that economy is the foundation of the society in which it built up the corresponding legal and political superstructure, which is dictatorship, and definite form of social consciousness and spiritual process of life. Where Idealist school of thought conceptualize that the soul would determine the consciousness of the mass, and that the individual should own property, that is private ownership of the property and not the state.

Conclusively, the two schools of thought have made major contribution in shaping history as a discipline and thus the two are not mutually exclusive. This is because history is all about unending debate between the two thought of thinking which are antagonistically opposing each other.

REFERENCES

Altman, Christopher. T., Hegel and Marx (n.d) Alternative conceptions of history, Pierre Laclede Honors College, URL: http://altman.casimirinstitute.net/hegel.pdf.Accessed:  22/12/013 11:42 am

Collingwood R.G (1989). The idea of History, Oxford University: London

Ernest B. (1994). Historiography ancient, medieval and modern: Second edition, university of Chicago Press: Chicago

Lemon M. C (2003). The philosophy of History: A guide for Student, Routledge: New York

Nolte Ernst (1975). The relationship between “bourgeois” and “Materialism” Historiography, History and Theory, Vol. 14, No. 1: Wiley for Wesleyan University Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2504604 .Accessed: 08/11/2013 23:58