Analytical Marxism and the debate on social evolution

Alan Carling

pp. 98-128

in: Paul Blackledge, Graeme Kirkpatrick (eds), Historical materialism and social evolution, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002

Abstract

According to Erik Wright, Andrew Levine and Elliott Sober (1992, 50) a theory counts as historical only when it has built into it "the idea of direction". Both Darwinism and classical historical materialism are in their view genuinely historical theories: Darwinism because it posits (in the words of one authority) that "any population (with the properties of multiplication, heredity and variation) will evolve by natural selection so as to become better adapted to its environment" (Smith 1975, 96); Marxism likewise because it portrays societies as developing so as to improve their forces of production.

Cited authors

Darwin Charles

Marx Karl

Levine Andrew

Sober Elliott