The term HISTORICAL MATERIALISM refers to the theory, specific to Karl Marx, according to which the true driving forces of history are not spiritual or conscious in nature, but rather material and socio-economic: "It is not consciousness that determines life, but life that determines consciousness."
1. Economic Inequalities
Marx analyzed how capitalism generates the concentration of wealth and the exploitation of labor. Today, the rise in global inequality, the precariousness of work, and the growth of economic power in the hands of a few seem to confirm many of his insights.
2. Alienation and Labor
The concept of alienation, according to which the worker is separated from the product of their labor, the production process, their essence, and others, is still visible in many forms of modern work, especially in digital labor, the gig economy, and automated work.
3. Critique of Ideology
Marx argued that the dominant ideas in a society are those of the ruling class. This critique of ideology is still applicable to the analysis of the media, marketing, the role of social networks, and consumer culture as tools for conformity and reproduction of power relations.
4. Recurring Crises of Capitalism
Cyclical economic crises are central to Marxist theory. From the 2008 financial crisis to the fragility of contemporary global markets, many crises seem to confirm the capitalist system's tendency to produce internal imbalances.
5. Globalization and Imperialism
Marx's reflections on the expansion of capital are reflected in the phenomena of economic globalization, which has extended the logic of profit and market to a global scale, often at the expense of workers' rights and the environment.
6. Ecology and the Critique of Metabolism
Marx spoke of the "metabolic rift" between humanity and nature: a foresight of current ecological issues. Capitalism, he said, disrupts the balance between natural cycles and human productive cycles. Today, many eco-Marxists revisit this idea to address the climate crisis.
MARX and Women
"The degree of emancipation of women is the natural measure of general emancipation." (K. Marx)
"The first class oppression coincides with the oppression of the female sex by the male sex." (F. Engels)
One cannot overlook Marx's view on the women's question: the oppression of women is closely tied to the economic and social structures of capitalism.
Equal Rights
Marx argued that the emancipation of women was a fundamental indicator of social progress. In The Holy Family (1845), paraphrasing Fourier, he stated: "The degree of emancipation of women is the natural measure of general emancipation." In The Communist Manifesto (1848), he denounced the bourgeois view of women as "instruments of production," criticizing the hypocrisy of the ruling class that, while accusing communists of wanting to establish the "commune of women," already treated women as private property.
Role of Women
Marx analyzed the condition of women through the lens of production and social reproduction. In the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844, he described the relationship between men and women as the most natural of human relationships, arguing that the quality of this relationship reflected the degree of humanization of society. In Capital(1867), he highlighted how the inclusion of women in the production process, though in exploitative conditions, represented a step toward emancipation, as it freed them from domestic isolation and made them participants in the class struggle.
Political Contribution
Marx did not limit himself to theoretical analysis but actively supported women's participation in the workers' movement. In 1867, he proposed a discussion on the emancipation of female workers within the International Workingmen's Association and, after the Paris Commune, suggested the creation of female sections to organize working women.
Marx recognized the oppression of women as an intrinsic component of the capitalist system and argued that their liberation was inseparable from the class struggle. While he did not develop an autonomous feminist theory, his thought laid the groundwork for later elaborations of Marxist feminism, which deepened the connection between gender, class, and social production.
Why Capitalism Is Doomed to Fail
Marx does not offer simple solutions but proposes a critical method to interrogate the present, unmask hidden power relations, and imagine alternatives.
Capitalism is destined to fail not because of a moral reason or a management mistake, but because of internal contradictions inherent in the system itself. Here are the main reasons, explained clearly but rigorously:
"Capital is dead labor, which, like a vampire, lives only by sucking living labor."
(Capital, 1867)
1. Contradiction Between Capital and Labor
Capitalist profit is based on the exploitation of labor. But the more capital seeks to maximize profit by reducing wages and increasing productivity, the more it weakens workers' purchasing power. This creates a contradiction:
Capitalists must sell in order to realize profit, but they reduce the purchasing power of those who should be buying.
2. Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall
One of the central points of Marxist critique is the law that, in the long run, the rate of profit tends to decrease.
As capital invests in machines (constant capital) and reduces human labor (variable capital), which is the only source of value according to Marx, profit decreases.
Paradox: the more production becomes efficient, the less profit it generates.
3. Cyclical Crises of Overproduction
Capitalism does not produce according to needs, but according to profit. This periodically leads to the production of more goods than can be absorbed by the market.
When warehouses are full and people have no money to buy, a crisis erupts.
4. Accumulation and Polarization
Wealth tends to concentrate more and more in the hands of a few. This not only generates social conflict but also makes the system unstable. Marx speaks of polarization between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, leading to increasing tension that can potentially lead to revolution.
5. Development of Productive Forces Beyond the Limits of Social Relations
Capitalism greatly develops productive forces (technology, industry, science), but remains tied to production relations that prevent an equitable and rational distribution of wealth. According to Marx:
At some point, the system becomes an obstacle to the very development it has generated.
6. Class Consciousness and Revolution
As contradictions worsen, the working class (proletariat) becomes aware of its condition and organizes to overthrow the system. It is not just about claiming rights, but abolishing the logic of profit to build a classless society.
THE FORMULA
For Marx, capitalism generates the seeds of its own dissolution. Its development is also the process of its end.
The formula Commodity – Money – Commodity (C – M – C) is one of the key concepts Marx uses in Capital to explain how exchange works in pre-capitalist or non-capitalist economies.
Formula C – M – C: The Cycle of Simple Exchange
1. C (Commodity):
The starting point is a commodity that the subject possesses. For example, a farmer has a sack of grain.
2. M (Money):
The farmer sells the grain in exchange for money.
Purpose: to obtain something different from grain.
3. C (Commodity):
The money obtained is used to buy another commodity that is needed— for example, a pair of shoes.
Thus: grain → money → shoes.
Purpose: to satisfy a need.
Formula D – M – D′: The Capitalist Cycle (in comparison)
Marx contrasts the previous formula with another typical of capitalism:
D – M – D′
Money → Commodity → More Money
Here, the starting point is not a commodity exchanged for living, but money itself, invested to obtain more money at the end of the cycle (D′ > D).
Example: a capitalist buys commodities (machines, labor, raw materials) and uses them to produce other commodities, which are then sold at a higher price.
This is the logic of profit, not need.
Essential Difference
| Simple Cycle (C–M–C) | Capitalist Cycle (D–M–D′) | Starts from a need | Starts from capital
| Wants a useful commodity | Wants more money
| Money is a means | Money is the end
| Use economy | Profit economy
Why Is This Important for Marx?
For Marx, the transition from C–M–C to D–M–D′ marks the birth of capitalism:
Labor, commodities, and even time become tools to accumulate value, not to satisfy real needs.
This is where Marx inserts his critique: in capitalism, life is subordinated to the logic of accumulation.
1. The Commodity Form
For Marx, the commodity is the basic unit of capitalism. But it is not just any object: it is something doubly characterized:
• It has a use value (useful for something)
• It has an exchange value (it can be sold)
But in capitalism, what dominates is the social form that this commodity assumes: it no longer matters what it is, but how much it is worth.
For example: a handmade chair, an IKEA chair, or an NFT "in the shape of a chair" are all commodities. What matters is not their actual utility, but the abstract form in which they circulate in the market.
2. Commodity Fetishism
This is where Marx takes a decisive step, introducing a radical critique of everyday consciousness.
What is a fetish?
In a religious context, a fetish is an object to which magical powers are attributed.
Marx uses this metaphor to say that in capitalism, commodities seem to have an "intrinsic power," as if they were valuable by themselves, independently of the human relations that produced them.
Example:
When you buy a phone, you see:
• The price
• The brand
• The technology
But you don’t see:
• The exploited worker who assembled it
• The mining for rare metals
• The environmental and social conditions of production
The social relationship between people appears as a relationship between things.
→ This is commodity fetishism.
Ideological Effect
For Marx, fetishism is not just a "mistake," but a form of distorted consciousness that:
• Hides the real social relations (exploitation, alienation)
• Makes the laws of the market appear natural and "obvious"
• Makes it seem normal that the value of a human life is measured in money or productivity
In other words, capitalism is not just an economic system, but a system of perceiving reality.
In Summary
| Concept | Meaning | Commodity Form | The abstract social structure of the commodity in capitalism
| Dominant Exchange Value | Obscures the concrete and social origin of production
| Fetishism | Things appear as autonomous, social relations become invisible
This analysis is very relevant today: we live in a world saturated with objects and symbols where price, brand, and visibility matter more than productive reality, real need, or human relations.
We see how commodity fetishism manifests today—in contemporary consumerism, social media, and fashion—by following Marxist thought updated for the 21st century.
1. Contemporary Consumerism
In advanced capitalism, we no longer buy things just to use them, but to:
• Express ourselves
• Appear
• Feel accepted
Commodities become social signs and symbols.
Example:
A 1-euro bottle of water and a 10-euro (designer-branded) one often contain the same water. But they don’t have the same "social value."
→ This is pure fetishism: the object is loaded with artificial symbolic powers, unrelated to its use value.
2. Social Media: Invisible Commodities
On social media, people themselves become commodities. Profiles are "digital packaging," optimized to get clicks, likes, and followers.
In Marxist logic:
• Personal content has use value (communication, expression)
• But it is transformed into exchange value: visibility → monetization
Even attention becomes a commodity.
Platforms don’t just sell products: they sell us to advertisers.
3. Fashion and Fast Fashion
Fashion is perhaps the perfect laboratory for modern fetishism.
• The commodity no longer has any connection to quality or durability (use value)
• The value is entirely in the brand, the novelty, the social signal the garment communicates (symbolic value)
Marx would say:
They don’t sell clothes: they sell identities to wear.
And real production (working conditions in poor countries, pollution, exploitation) remains invisible, behind the "fetish" of the brand.
In Summary
| Context | Use Value | Exchange Value / Fetishism | Consumerism | Need or utility of the object | Status, symbol, induced desire
| Social Media | Personal expression | Monetization of attention and identity
| Fashion | Cover, protect, decorate | Brand, novelty, social recognition
In advanced capitalist society:
• Not only things,
• But also relationships, people, time, reputation become fetishized commodities.
We live within a "phantasmagoria" of the market, where everything can be turned into exchange value—and where real social relations disappear behind objects that seem to speak for themselves.
The task today is not to grow more, but to learn to live with less, better, and together. Marx is not a prophet of productivity, but a thinker of limits and ecological justice.
(Saito Kōhei, The Marx of the Anthropocene)
