What Has Marxism Given to the Writing of History?

The theories of Marxism have long been some of the most intriguing and thought provoking put forth in 19^th and 20^th centuries. Marxist theory is hallmarked by actively channeling and critiquing the foundations of the political, social and economic order of Western society and ideologies as a whole. Marxism gave rise to certain basic ideas and beliefs that permeate the writing of history, to allow us the ability to comprehend what history is or was. Marxist theory asks us to use the knowledge of the economics of the societal area and the productive development that enhances it, and to evaluate the viewpoint of the people who made the development happen, the working classes.

Marxism led to the idea that history is a science, as vital as chemistry or physics to their respective fields. History, like chemistry, is borne of theories and ideas, substaniatated by evidence and tested by time, open to interpretation and question, allowing us the understanding of the past to be able to chart a way forward to the future

Marist Theories

Marxism is rooted in the belief that mankind was and is able to evolve to a higher level of understanding simply because of his ability to produce what he needed to survive, rather than depend on others to subsist. Man leaned how to harness his environment to satisfy his needs and wants, and over time to create better methods and methodologies of production. Marxism purports that history is about the collective efforts of men to fulfill the simplictic needs of all men, and from this effort they would achieve their full potential and happiness, and thus attain a world in which there was classless society, an 'all for one and one for all' framework for society as a whole. Marx wrote in A Contribution in the Critique of Political Economy that 'It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their conscious', meaning the dawning of social awareness would lead men to put their efforts toward that of the greater good, rather than the fulfillment of self-worth.