Historical and dialectical materialism are terms con-
ventionally employed to describe two aspects of the
theoretical structure known as Marxism. Although
logically independent of each other, the two concepts
are historically linked by virtue of the fact that they
evolved from a common intellectual stem. For practi-
cal purposes it is also relevant that Marx and Engels
are widely regarded as joint creators of a unified system
of thought encompassing nature and history. The fact
that this interpretation is erroneous does not render
it less significant. Insofar as the term “Marxism” has
come to stand for a systematic doctrine elaborated by
Engels and others after the death of Marx, the latter's
original intentions may be said to have been “devel-
oped” or “misinterpreted,” depending upon one's
viewpoint. Irrespective of where one stands on this
issue, it is a comparatively simple matter to distinguish
the historical materialism of Marx from the dialectical
materialism of Engels. In tracing this distinction, we
begin with Marx's writings on history, and then pro-
ceed to a consideration of the materialist ontology
outlined by Engels and subsequently institutionalized
in the dogmatic system of Marxism-Leninism. This
approach inverts the familiar procedure wherein his-
torical materialism is treated as the application to
history of the general doctrine of dialectical materi-
alism. Since no such view was at any time entertained
by Marx, we are on safe grounds in disregarding it.
