Dialectical transformations

teleology, history and social consciousness

István Mészáros

pp. 135-150

in: Bertell Ollman, Tony Smith (eds), Dialectics for the new century, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

Abstract

According to Marx, the potential impact of the interaction between the material base and the superstructure can be both positive and negative, from early stages of historical development right up to that point in history when human beings consciously take control over the conflicting social forces of their situation. Hence ideology, too, appears in his conception with diametrically opposed connotations. On the one hand, it is presented in its negativity as a mystifying and counterproductive force that greatly hinders development. Yet, on the other hand, it is also seen as a vital positive factor - bent on overcoming determinate social constraints and resistances - without whose active contribution the forward driving potentialities of the given historical situation quite simply could not unfold.

Cited authors

Marx Karl