The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-03-10

this movement grew apace during the
reactionary period of 1906 and 1907.
1t was known as Machism because it
developed from the attack on dialec-
teal materialism made by the bour-
geois leaders of the newest critical"
and realistic" philosophy, Mach and
Avenarius) and was under the leader
ship of Bogdanov and Lunacharsky.
"Materialism and Empirico Criticism"
was the outcome of the need Lenin
felt of thoro and consistent polemic
against this new revisionist attempt.
1t was, as Comrade Deborin says in
his valuable introduction, mot only an
important contribution to philosophy,
but also remarkable document TO an
intra-party struggle which was of ut
most Importance in strengthening the
general philosophic foundations of
Marxism and Leninism." 1t was a
brilliant restatement Gin larger scope)
Of the dialectical materialism of the
founders, Marx and Engels, and
proved the death blow to Machism. 1t
is significant to note in this connec-
ton that Kautsky as editor of the
chief theoretical organ of German So
cial Democracy, "Neue Zeit," took an
absolutely neutral position in this
philosophical controversy, indiscrim-
inately offering its columns to Mach
ians and materialists, without taking
a definite and consistent position him
self. In the field of MARKHAM philoso-
ply, the lead had already been taken
by the Russian Marxists under the
lead of Plechanov and Lenin.
Lenin, reiterating Engels, divides
all PHILOSOPHERS into two main, oppos-
ing categories, materialism and ideal
ism. To the materialist, nature mat
ter, the outer physical world, is pri-
mary and consciousness, mind, spirit,
sensation, etc., secondary and deriva-
tive. To the idealist it is vice-versa.
Between these two main, fundamental
categories, lie all shades of compro-
mise, philosophically known as agnos-
ticism. An agnostic is one who does
not go beyond his sensations and as
serts that he cannot know anything
for certain about their source, their
origin.
On this basis, Mach's position is
clearly reduced to idealism all along
the line. In Mach's definitions, "Bo-
dies are complexes of sensations. The
world consists only of our sensations"
From this it follows that "there is no
objective truth" since we cannot
speak of GOODIES outside our sensa-
TONS" Therefore Gin nature there is
neither cause nor effect. All
forms of the law of causality fol-
low from subjective endeavors. Be-
sides logical necessity, there is no
other necessity, no physical necessity
for example" Space and time be-
come only "well ordered systems Of
series Of sensations"
To this subjective idealistic analy-
sis, dialectic materialism answers:
"There is an objective external world
0xlSJlHS OuLSiuc VI uS. DcHobtiOu -
nothing but direct connection Of the
mind with the external world. There
is, then, objective reality, moving
matter, independent of our mind This
matter has its own objective, order
and causality. This order is reflected
In the mind Of man, who himself is
a part of nature. And since matter
is in motion, it cannot move but in
space and time. Therefore space and
time are effectively real"
Lenin gives US some interesting
statistical evidence as to the source
and origin Of this new Critical" phil
osophy Of Mach's. A judicious series
Of quotations from the chief works Of
old Bishop Berkeley, definitely places
,Moch,s disuuisitions undar tha cata