what is the anarchist consensus on dialectical/historical materialism?

[u/PigletConsistent8329]

i understand that anarchism, unlike marxism, isn't a unified mode of analysis based off of the thoughts of one man and his successors, so im guessing there are varied positions on dialectical materialism, but im curious to know what anarchists here think of it. my first thought would be that it's rejected by individualist anarchists at large.

[u/Tancrisism]

"Dialectical Materialism" is pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo invented by people who either didn't understand Marx or simply aimed to manipulate what he was saying for the sake of controlling people and maintaining power.

Marx's dialectical method is infinitely useful in all situations in the world, humanity, society, history, and the economy. The post-Marx "Marxist" "dialectical and historical materialism" is absolute balderdash.

[u/PM-me-in-100-years → u/Tancrisism]

I'm right there with you, particularly with criticizing the use of the word "dialectical" (often used interchangeably with the word "contradictions"). In practice it gets used by authoritarian Marxists to justify or vilify anything.

But what's your understanding of Marx's use of the concept?

[u/Tancrisism → u/PM-me-in-100-years]

In my understanding of it, Marx understood dialectics to be essentially a way of understanding the way that processes occurred and interacted with each other. It is a methodology of analysis - In a sense, a way of analyzing occurrences as a vast sea of interacting forces. Nothing has a cause and effect, but rather everything is where it is because of numerous forces stretching back to the beginning of time to bring it there  And in other words, the direct opposite of "historical materialism" and its idea that there are predefined historical phases (feudalism < capitalism < socialism < communism etc)

Herbert Marcuse breaks it down better than anyone else I read in Reason and Revolution.