The Subjective Dimension of Historical Materialism—From the Perspective of “Need”

Abstract

The thought of need always occupies an important position in Marx’s theory. Through the literature review of Marx’s need thought, we can conclude that it is a central clue running through Marx’s thought, but also the basic category of historical materialism. The position of need thought in historical materialism lies in the need of people to promote the development of productive forces. The need of people is the source of promoting social development, and the targeted activities to meet the needs are the driving force of social development. In the classical historical materialism, it emphasizes the objective dimension of historical materialism, while ignoring the subjective dimension of the dominant factors of the social and historical process, which Marx also attaches great importance to. For the study of needs, it can be further found that social history is not only “a natural historical process”, but also a specific historical process based on the reality of human subjects.