登陆注册
5244900000011

第11章 B. THE ILLUSION OF THE EPOCH(1)

Civil Society and the Conception of History The form of intercourse determined by the existing productive forces at all previous historical stages, and in its turn determining these, is civil society. The latter, as is clear from what we have said above, has as its premises and basis the simple family and the multiple, the so-called tribe, the more precise determinants of this society are enumerated in our remarks above. Already here we see how this civil society is the true source and theatre of all history, and how absurd is the conception of history held hitherto, which neglects the real relationships and confines itself to high-sounding dramas of princes and states.

Civil society embraces the whole material intercourse of individuals within a definite stage of the development of productive forces. It embraces the whole commercial and industrial life of a given stage and, insofar, transcends the State and the nation, though, on the other hand again, it must assert itself in its foreign relations as nationality, and inwardly must organise itself as State. The word "civil society" [ bürgerliche Gesellschaft ] emerged in the eighteenth century, when property relationships had already extricated themselves from the ancient and medieval communal society. Civil society as such only develops with the bourgeoisie; the social organisation evolving directly out of production and commerce, which in all ages forms the basis of the State and of the rest of the idealistic superstructure, has, however, always been designated by the same name.

History is nothing but the succession of the separate generations, each of which exploits the materials, the capital funds, the productive forces handed down to it by all preceding generations, and thus, on the one hand, continues the traditional activity in completely changed circumstances and, on the other, modifies the old circumstances with a completely changed activity. This can be speculatively distorted so that later history is made the goal of earlier history, e.g. the goal ascribed to the discovery of America is to further the eruption of the French Revolution. Thereby history receives its own special aims and becomes "a person rating with other persons" (to wit: "Self-Consciousness, Criticism, the Unique", etc.), while what is designated with the words "destiny", "goal", "germ", or "idea" of earlier history is nothing more than an abstraction formed from later history, from the active influence which earlier history exercises on later history.

The further the separate spheres, which interact on one another, extend in the course of this development, the more the original isolation of the separate nationalities is destroyed by the developed mode of production and intercourse and the division of labour between various nations naturally brought forth by these, the more history becomes world history. Thus, for instance, if in England a machine is invented, which deprives countless workers of bread in India and China, and overturns the whole form of existence of these empires, this invention becomes a world-historical fact. Or again, take the case of sugar and coffee which have proved their world-historical importance in the nineteenth century by the fact that the lack of these products, occasioned by the Napoleonic Continental System, caused the Germans to rise against Napoleon, and thus became the real basis of the glorious Wars of liberation of 1813. From this it follows that this transformation of history into world history is not indeed a mere abstract act on the part of the "self-consciousness", the world spirit, or of any other metaphysical spectre, but a quite material, empirically verifiable act, an act the proof of which every individual furnishes as he comes and goes, eats, drinks and clothes himself.

This conception of history depends on our ability to expound the real process of production, starting out from the material production of life itself, and to comprehend the form of intercourse connected with this and created by this mode of production (i.e. civil society in its various stages), as the basis of all history; and to show it in its action as State, to explain all the different theoretical products and forms of consciousness, religion, philosophy, ethics, etc. etc. and trace their origins and growth from that basis; by which means, of course, the whole thing can be depicted in its totality (and therefore, too, the reciprocal action of these various sides on one another). It has not, like the idealistic view of history, in every period to look for a category, but remains constantly on the real ground of history; it does not explain practice from the idea but explains the formation of ideas from material practice; and accordingly it comes to the conclusion that all forms and products of consciousness cannot be dissolved by mental criticism, by resolution into "self-consciousness" or transformation into "apparitions", "spectres", "fancies", etc. but only by the practical overthrow of the actual social relations which gave rise to this idealistic humbug; that not criticism but revolution is the driving force of history, also of religion, of philosophy and all other types of theory. It shows that history does not end by being resolved into "self-consciousness as spirit of the spirit", but that in it at each stage there is found a material result: a sum of productive forces, an historically created relation of individuals to nature and to one another, which is handed down to each generation from its predecessor; a mass of productive forces, capital funds and conditions, which, on the one hand, is indeed modified by the new generation, but also on the other prescribes for it its conditions of life and gives it a definite development, a special character. It shows that circumstances make men just as much as men make circumstances.

同类推荐
  • 韦十一娘传

    韦十一娘传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 观物外篇

    观物外篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 南村诗集

    南村诗集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 广弘明集

    广弘明集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 瑜伽金刚顶经释字母品

    瑜伽金刚顶经释字母品

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 佛说鹦鹉经

    佛说鹦鹉经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 大姐当家

    大姐当家

    一朝穿越成了一户农家长女窦花,父母双亡,下面有四个弟妹需要抚养,窦花抚额,压力有些大……大弟懂事,二妹乖巧,三弟聪明,就连最小的小妹也是可爱嘴甜……窦花表示一定会将他们抚养长大……日子总是越过越好的,有着一双勤劳的双手,再难的日子也能过得有滋有味……【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 你是人间七月的风

    你是人间七月的风

    七月份的风,是梦想的启航,还是分手的季节?七月份的风,是与新知的相遇,还是和挚友的离别?七月份风,也许是凉爽的,但也许也是苦涩的。也许以后,我们成长的道路上还能相遇,但,我们熟悉的那三年,再也不会重来。
  • 《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》释义及实用指南

    《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》释义及实用指南

    《中华人民共和国劳动合同法》被誉为劳动者的“保护伞”,为构建与发展和谐稳定的劳动关系提供法律保障。作为我国劳动保障法制建设进程中的一个重要里程碑,劳动合同法的修改有着深远的意义。 为了更好地理解与适用民诉法,我们约请全国人大常委会法制工作委员会立法规划室的专家对行刑事诉讼法的立法精神作提纲挈领的说明,重点提示适用重点、难点。
  • 趣味营销学

    趣味营销学

    本书将营销4P同被称为“竞争理论”的博弈论紧密结合起来,通过一些故事和典型案例进行阐述,共分四篇:竞争策略篇、公关及服务篇、产品及品牌篇、渠道及技巧篇。
  • 厨神甜妻:总裁的私人诱宠

    厨神甜妻:总裁的私人诱宠

    十年前,颜汐后悔没有说爱他十年后,两人在一起之后,陌瑾对颜汐宠爱无度,持续升级,吃她做的菜,索取她的爱。陌瑾:“确认过印记,遇见对的人!”〖欢迎来②群:235814368〗
  • 扶桑花开君未归

    扶桑花开君未归

    她曾经,贵为天神,万人敬仰。现在的她,胆小如鼠,傻不拉几,实力弱到了极点。什么?到到达无人之境还弱?这还让他们怎么活啊!刘萧夜:“无人境界?呵,瑾儿止步于此,还真的是弱爆了!”莲逍:“明明很强啊!”刘萧夜:“……”你是谁?我不认识你!***莲瑾/扶桑:“无论如何,我都会找到你,即使你化成灰烬,魂飞魄散,我也要想办法把你找回来!”刘萧夜:“当我第一次沐浴光明,最先映入眼帘的是一片火红,如同阳光一般美好。”莲逍:“九耀国永远是你的家。”子箫:“我愿用九万年修为换你一笑,瑾,即使你不再是扶桑,但你依然是我的帝后。”
  • 不死剑修

    不死剑修

    【现象级玄幻神作,日更万字!】十年前,杨笑为大夏皇朝三皇子,却被兄长陷害,推入禁地虚空洪流,十死无生。十年后,杨笑从虚空剑葬走出,以无敌剑魔之姿,掌生死,断轮回,霸天下!
  • 背后的地平线

    背后的地平线

    在历史的深处《背后的地平线》是我1997年完成的一部长篇小说。或者是出于对先前写作惯性的一种反叛,这部作品有些另类。首先,这部长篇,我没有刻意去编撰完整的故事。在传统的意义上,小说不可以没有故事。要编撰戏剧化的重大情节,要塑造典型人物,等等。但编撰故事,讲述相对完整的故事,必然成为一种对叙述的限定。故事发生的时空,具有某种叙述边界。当我们服务于故事的完整性,我们就不得不走上叙述的精致化。相对于精致化,我几乎是在不自觉的情况下,下意识地选择了粗鄙化。
  • 纪委书记2

    纪委书记2

    南江省金碧辉煌的城市背后,隐藏着一群肆无忌惮的蛀虫,它们攫取钱财,为非作歹,祸害百姓,所过之处,到处千疮百孔。李思文,狮子县纪委书记;于清风,北川市纪委书记;徐建国,南江省纪委书记;三名纪委书记联合公检法等六大部门,在县市省三条线上,掀起了一场‘灭虫行动’。让他们措手不及的是,反扑来的如此迅猛而激烈。弃卒保帅、栽赃暗杀,撕下伪装面具的‘蛀虫’们,这一刻成为一群可怕的暴徒。不上一条船,就见阎罗王。是高抬贵手,还是决不手软的零容忍!一线厮杀、内线交锋、高层博弈,当纪委书记们走上这条悬空钢丝,就意味着狭路相逢勇者胜。每一次交锋都是一场人性道德良知的考验,个中滋味五味杂陈,只有真正的纪检人员才能体会。