The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-15

that are at war with one another.
And it was the great discovery, Of
Marx and Engels that they proved
that it was the development of these
class struggles in society that lex
plains the rise and fall of ideas, Chat
explains why it is that certain ne
ligions are born. why they die, Why
people in different periods of history
have different moral ideas, etc.
At last the century-old question
was answered. With this conception
of history, the materialistic concep-
ton, it was possible to explain why
mems ideas change and develop. 1t
is because the outside, material, forces
of production change and develop.
The materialistic theory of history
has been falsified to mean that men
cannot change history, that no mat
ter what they do everything has been
laid down in advance by ''god" or by
economics. It's no use doing any
thing these people say, because no
matter what you do, history will
develop in the way which it wants
to, CO., anyhow.
The capitalists like this theory be-
cause it keeps the workers from
fighting against them. But this is
a classification of Marx and Engels'
theory Many times they said that
"Man makes his own history. But
he does not make it out of the whole
CLOTH" That is, people can only act
with the material conditions that are
around thems Without the tools, you
can't make anything. And the kind
of tools you have suggest the kind
of thing you can make. That is, man
can, and must, be active, his actions
do affect history. But only within
the limits laid down by the material
factors of the outside world.
The materialistic conception Of
history explains why we see today
throughout capitalist society the Tin.
ending struggle between Communism
and Capitalism. 1t is because, al
Engels said, Communism "is the pro.
duct of the recognition, ON the one
hand, of class ahtagonisms existing
in society today, between the posses
sing class and the non possessing
class, between the capitalists and the
workers, and on the other hand II
is the product Of the anarchy that
exists in modern production"
This means that Communism Is
only the result Of the material posi-
ton of the workers under capital
ism, result of the fact that they
are exploited by the capitalists.
And what does this mean? It
means that the materialistic concep-
ton of history shows how the day to
day struggles of the workers against
capitalism, against wage cuts, against
the starvation and suffering caused
by the crisis, are an inevitable, histo-
rical necessity. 1t shows that just as
the material forces of capitalism give
birth to the idea Of Communism, so
the development of capitalism to its
present stage of world crisis makes
it necessary to overthrow capitalism
and establish Socialism.
The materialistic conception of his
tory shows that only when the work
ers overthrow capitalism can they
end all crises and unemployment.
With the materialistic conception
Of history, the working class is able
to refute all the false ideas and the
cries of the capitalists and their
agents, the reactionary professors.
the priests and ministers, ETC., who
try to keep the workers in wage
slavery by mysterious theories of his
tory.
With this powerful theory created
by Marx and Engels, the workers
were able to establish their own rule
i'll the Soviet Union. And with it
they will be able to do the same all
ovtr The world, including the Uil.:.d
States. -.
Editors note:--In his letter,
Comrade Kelly asks several other
questions which will be answered
in coming issues of the DAILY
Worker"