Karl Marx's History Understanding: Historical Materialism

Marx, with his observations in the process of formation of capitalism and industrialization, has made very important determinations in order to understand the present, thus revealing an understanding of historical materialism that includes both economic and social analyzes. Marx, with its historical materialism, criticized the capitalist process and the accompanying phenomenon of alienation. Within the framework of the materialist understanding of history, he tried to understand why and how changes in society took place and considered history as the history of economy-based class conflicts. In the framework of this understanding, Marx did not only understand and explain the world but also tried to change the world. For this reason, he presented the classless society as a solution to the opposite of capitalism and wanted to liberate man from the yoke of the capitalist system with his thoughts. According to him, the emancipation of man will be possible only by eliminating all the phenomena such as alienation, religion, and ideology which prevent the realization of himself by creating a false perception of reality in man. For this reason, in the face of the unceasing rise of capitalism today, we have determined the subject of Marx's ideas in the nineteenth century as still important and valuable in the name of today, and the subject of this article as, Karl Marx's materialist understanding of history. In order to present Marx's understanding of history from a holistic perspective, we have briefly considered the basic concepts, ideas, and critiques of the philosophical system