第5章

TherealityoftheabsurdisthefirstarticleoffaithintheHegelianunityofthelogicalandtheillogical……Themorecontradictoryathingthetrueritis，orinotherwords，themoreabsurdthemorecredibleitis。Thismaxim，whichisnotevennewlyinventedbutisborrowedfromthetheologyoftheRevelationandfrommysticism，isthenakedexpressionoftheso-calleddialecticalprinciple“{D。K。G。479-80}。

Thethought-contentofthetwopassagescitedcanbesummedupinthestatementthatcontradiction=absurdity，andthereforecannotoccurintherealworld。

Peoplewhoinotherrespectsshowafairdegreeofcommonsensemayregardthisstatementashavingthesameself-evidentvalidityasthestatementthatastraightlinecannotbeacurveandacurvecannotbestraight。

But，regardlessofallprotestsmadebycommonsense，thedifferentialcalculusundercertaincircumstancesneverthelessequatesstraightlinesandcurves，andthusobtainsresultswhichcommonsense，insistingontheabsurdityofstraightlinesbeingidenticalwithcurves，canneverattain。

Andinviewoftheimportantrolewhichtheso-calleddialecticsofcontradictionhasplayedinphilosophyfromthetimeoftheancientGreeksuptothepresent，evenastrongeropponentthanHerrDühringshouldhavefeltobligedtoattackitwithotherargumentsbesidesoneassertionandagoodmanyabusiveepithets。

True，solongasweconsiderthingsasatrestandlifeless，eachonebyitself，alongsideandaftereachother，wedonotrunupagainstanycontradictionsinthem。Wefindcertainqualitieswhicharepartlycommonto，partlydifferentfrom，andevencontradictorytoeachother，butwhichinthelast-mentionedcasearedistributedamongdifferentobjectsandthereforecontainnocontradictionwithin。Insidethelimitsofthissphereofobservationwecangetalongonthebasisoftheusual，metaphysicalmodeofthought。Butthepositionisquitedifferentassoonasweconsiderthingsintheirmotion，theirchange，theirlife，theirreciprocalinfluenceononeanother。Thenweimmediatelybecomeinvolvedincontradictions。

Motionitselfisacontradiction:evensimplemechanicalchangeofpositioncanonlycomeaboutthroughabodybeingatoneandthesamemomentoftimebothinoneplaceandinanotherplace，beinginoneandthesameplaceandalsonotinit。Andthecontinuousoriginationandsimultaneoussolutionofthiscontradictionispreciselywhatmotionis。

Here，therefore，wehaveacontradictionwhich“isobjectivelypresentinthingsandprocessesthemselvesandcanbemetwithinsotospeakcorporealform“。AndwhathasHerrDühringtosayaboutit？

Heassertsthatuptothepresentthereis“nobridge“whatever“inrationalmechanicsfromthestrictlystatictothedynamic“{D。Ph。80}。

ThereadercannowatlastseewhatishiddenbehindthisfavouritephraseofHerrDühring’s——itisnothingbutthis:themindwhichthinksmetaphysicallyisabsolutelyunabletopassfromtheideaofresttotheideaofmotion，becausethecontradictionpointedoutaboveblocksitspath。Toit，motionissimplyincomprehensiblebecauseitisacontradiction。

Andinassertingtheincomprehensibilityofmotion，itadmitsagainstitswilltheexistenceofthiscontradiction，andthusadmitstheobjectivepresenceinthingsandprocessesthemselvesofacontradictionwhichismoreoveranactualforce。

Ifsimplemechanicalchangeofpositioncontainsacontradictionthisisevenmoretrueofthehigherformsofmotionofmatter，andespeciallyoforganiclifeanditsdevelopment。Wesawabovethatlifeconsistspreciselyandprimarilyinthis——thatabeingisateachmomentitselfandyetsomethingelse。Lifeisthereforealsoacontradictionwhichispresentinthingsandprocessesthemselves，andwhichconstantlyoriginatesandresolvesitself;andassoonasthecontradictionceases，life，too，comestoanend，anddeathstepsin。Welikewisesawthatalsointhesphereofthoughtwecouldnotescapecontradictions，andthatforexamplethecontradictionbetweenman’sinherentlyunlimitedcapacityforknowledgeanditsactualpresenceonlyinmenwhoareexternallylimitedandpossesslimitedcognitionfindsitssolutioninwhatis——atleastpractically，forus——anendlesssuccessionofgenerations，ininfiniteprogress。

Wehavealreadynotedthatoneofthebasicprinciplesofhighermathematicsisthecontradictionthatincertaincircumstancesstraightlinesandcurvesmaybethesame。Italsogetsupthisothercontradiction:

thatlineswhichintersecteachotherbeforeoureyesnevertheless，onlyfiveorsixcentimetresfromtheirpointofintersection，canbeshowntobeparallel，thatis，thattheywillnevermeetevenifextendedtoinfinity。Andyet，workingwiththeseandwithevenfargreatercontradictions，itattainsresultswhicharenotonlycorrectbutalsoquiteunattainableforlowermathematics。

Butevenlowermathematicsteemswithcontradictions。ItisforexampleacontradictionthatarootofAshouldbeapowerofA，andyetA1/2=[——MissingPicture——]。Itisacontradictionthatanegativequantityshouldbethesquareofanything，foreverynegativequantitymultipliedbyitselfgivesapositivesquare。Thesquarerootofminusoneisthereforenotonlyacontradiction，butevenanabsurdcontradiction，arealabsurdity。

Andyetisinmanycasesanecessaryresultofcorrectmathematicaloperations。Furthermore，wherewouldmathematics——lowerorhigher——be，ifitwereprohibitedfromoperationwith？

Initsoperationswithvariablequantitiesmathematicsitselfentersthefieldofdialectics，anditissignificantthatitwasadialecticalphilosopher，Descartes，whointroducedthisadvance。Therelationbetweenthemathematicsofvariableandthemathematicsofconstantquantitiesisingeneralthesameastherelationofdialecticaltometaphysicalthought。

Butthisdoesnotpreventthegreatmassofmathematiciansfromrecognisingdialecticsonlyinthesphereofmathematics，andagoodmanyofthemfromcontinuingtoworkintheold，limited，metaphysicalwaywithmethodsthatwereobtaineddialectically。

ItwouldbepossibletogomorecloselyintoHerrDühring’santagonismofforcesandhisantagonisticworldschematismonlyifhehadgivenussomethingmoreonthisthemethanthemerephrase。Afteraccomplishingthisfeatthisantagonismisnotevenonceshowntousatwork，eitherinhisworldschematismorinhisnaturalphilosophy——themostconvincingadmissionthatHerrDühringcandoabsolutelynothingofapositivecharacterwithhis“basicformofallactionsinthelifeoftheworldanditscreatures“。WhensomeonehasinfactloweredHegel’s“DoctrineofEssence“totheplatitudeofforcesmovinginoppositedirectionsbutnotincontradictions，certainlythebestthinghecandoistoavoidanyapplicationofthiscommonplace。

Marx’sCapitalfurnishesHerrDühringwithanotheroccasionforventinghisanti-dialecticalspleen。

“Theabsenceofnaturalandintelligiblelogicwhichcharacterisesthesedialecticalfrillsandmazesandconceptualarabesques……Eventothepartthathasalreadyappearedwemustapplytheprinciplethatinacertainrespectandalsoingeneral“(！)，“accordingtoawell-knownphilosophicalpreconception，allistobesoughtineachandeachinall，andthattherefore，accordingtothismixedandmisconceivedidea，itallamountstooneandthesamethingintheend“{D。K。G。496}。

Thisinsightintothewell-knownphilosophicalpreconceptionalsoenablesHerrDühringtoprophesywithassurancewhatwillbethe“end“ofMarx’seconomicphilosophising，thatis，whatthefollowingvolumesofCapitalwillcontain，andthishedoesexactlysevenlinesafterhehasdeclaredthat“speakinginplainhumanlanguageitisreallyimpossibletodivinewhatisstilltocomeinthetwo“(final)“volumes“[61]{496}。

This，however，isnotthefirsttimethatHerrDühring’swritingsarerevealedtousasbelongingtothe“things“inwhich“contradictionisobjectivelypresentandcanbemetwithinsotospeakcorporealform“

{479-80}。Butthisdoesnotpreventhimfromgoingonvictoriouslyasfollows:

“Yetsoundlogicwillinallprobabilitytriumphoveritscaricature……

Thispresenceofsuperiorityandthismysteriousdialecticalrubbishwilltemptnoonewhohasevenamodicumofsoundjudgmentlefttohaveanythingtodo……withthesedeformitiesofthoughtandstyle。Withthedemiseofthelastrelicsofthedialecticalfolliesthismeansofduping……

willloseitsdeceptiveinfluence，andnoonewillanylongerbelievethathehastotorturehimselfinordertogetbehindsomeprofoundpieceofwisdomwherethehuskedkerneloftheabstrusethingsrevealsatbestthefeaturesofordinarytheoriesifnotofabsolutecommonplaces……Itisquiteimpossibletoreproducethe“(Marxian)“mazeinaccordancewiththeLogosdoctrinewithoutprostitutingsoundlogic“{D。K。C。497}。Marx’smethod，accordingtoHerrDühring，consistsin“performingdialecticalmiraclesforhisfaithfulfollowers“{498}，andsoon。

WearenotinanywayconcernedhereasyetwiththecorrectnessorincorrectnessoftheeconomicresultsofMarx’sresearches，butonlywiththedialecticalmethodusedbyMarx。Butthismuchiscertain:mostreadersofCapitalwillhavelearntforthefirsttimefromHerrDühringwhatitisinfactthattheyhaveread。AndamongthemwillalsobeHerrDühringhimself，whointheyear1867(ErgänzungsblätterIII，No。3)wasstillabletoprovidewhatforathinkerofhiscalibrewasarelativelyrationalreviewofthebook;andhedidthiswithoutfirstbeingobligedashenowdeclaresisindispensable，totranslatetheMarxianargumentintoDühringianlanguage。AndthougheventhenhecommittedtheblunderofidentifyingMarxiandialecticswiththeHegelian，hehadnotquitelostthecapacitytodistinguishbetweenthemethodandtheresultsobtainedbyusingit，andtounderstandthatthelatterarenotrefutedindetailbylampooningtheformeringeneral。

Atanyrate，themostastonishingpieceofinformationgivenbyHerrDühringisthestatementthatfromtheMarxianstandpoint“itallamountstooneandthesamethingintheend“{496}，thatthereforetoMarx，forexample，capitalistsandwage-workers，feudal，capitalistandsocialistmodesofproductionarealso“oneandthesamething“——

nodoubtintheendevenMarxandHerrDühringare“oneandthesamething“。SuchutternonsensecanonlybeexplainedifwesupposethatthemerementionoftheworddialecticsthrowsHerrDühringintosuchastateofmentalirresponsibilitythat，asaresultofacertainmixedandmisconceivedidea，whathesaysanddoesis“oneandthesamething“

intheend。

WehavehereasampleofwhatHerrDühringcalls“myhistoricaldepictioninthegrandstyle“{556}，or“thesummarytreatmentwhichsettleswithgenusandtype，anddoesnotcondescendtohonourwhataHumecalledthelearnedmobwithanexposureinmicrologicaldetail;thistreatmentinahigherandnoblerstyleistheonlyonecompatiblewiththeinterestsofcompletetruthandwithone’sdutytothepublicwhichisfreefromthebondsoftheguilds“{507}。

HistoricaldepictioninthegrandstyleandthesummarysettlementwithgenusandtypeisindeedveryconvenientforHerrDühring，inasmuchasthismethodenableshimtoneglectallknownfactsasmicrologicalandequatethemtozero，sothatinsteadofprovinganythingheneedonlyusegeneralphrases，makeassertionsandthunderhisdenunciations。Themethodhasthefurtheradvantagethatitoffersnorealfootholdtoanopponent，whoisconsequentlyleftwithalmostnootherpossibilityofreplythantomakesimilarsummaryassertionsinthegrandstyle，toresorttogeneralphrasesandfinallythunderbackdenunciationsatHerrDühring——

inaword，astheysay，engageinaclangingmatch，whichisnottoeveryone’staste。WemustthereforebegratefultoHerrDühringforoccasionally，bywayofexception，droppingthehigherandnoblerstyle，andgivingusatleasttwoexamplesoftheunsoundMarxianLogosdoctrine。

“Howcomicalisthereferencetotheconfused，hazyHegeliannotionthatquantitychangesintoquality，andthatthereforeanadvance，whenitreachesacertainsize，becomescapitalbythisquantitativeincreasealone“{498}。

Inthis“expurgated“presentationbyHerrDühringthatstatementcertainlyseemscuriousenough。Letusseehowitlooksintheoriginal，inMarx。

Onpage313(2ndeditionofCapital)，Marx，onthebasisofhispreviousexaminationofconstantandvariablecapitalandsurplus-value，drawstheconclusionthat“noteverysumofmoney，orofvalue，isatpleasuretransformableintocapital。Toeffectthistransformation，infact，acertainminimumofmoneyorofexchange-valuemustbepresupposedinthehandsoftheindividualpossessorofmoneyorcommodities。”Hetakesasanexamplethecaseofalabourerinanybranchofindustry，whoworksdailyeighthoursforhimself——thatis，inproducingthevalueofhiswages——andthefollowingfourhoursforthecapitalist，inproducingsurplus-value，whichimmediatelyflowsintothepocketofthecapitalist。Inthiscase，onewouldhavetohaveathisdisposalasumofvaluessufficienttoenableonetoprovidetwolabourerswithrawmaterials，instrumentsoflabourandwages，inordertopocketenoughsurplus-valueeverydaytoliveonaswellasoneofhislabourers。Andastheaimofcapitalistproductionisnotmeresubsistencebuttheincreaseofwealth，ourmanwithhistwolabourerswouldstillnotbeacapitalist。Nowinorderthathemaylivetwiceaswellasanordinarylabourer，andturnhalfofthesurplus-valueproducedagainintocapital，hewouldhavetobeabletoemployeightlabourers，thatis，hewouldhavetopossessfourtimesthesumofvaluesassumedabove。Anditisonlyafterthis，andinthecourseofstillfurtherexplanationselucidatingandsubstantiatingthefactthatnoteverypettysumofvaluesisenoughtobetransformableintocapital，butthatinthisrespecteachperiodofdevelopmentandeachbranchofindustryhasitsdefiniteminimumsum，thatMarxobserves:“Here，asinnaturalscience，isshownthecorrectnessofthelawdiscoveredbyHegelinhisLogic，thatmerelyquantitativechangesbeyondacertainpointpassintoqualitativedifferences。”

Andnowletthereaderadmirethehigherandnoblerstyle，byvirtueofwhichHerrDühringattributestoMarxtheoppositeofwhathereallysaid。Marxsays:Thefactthatasumofvaluescanbetransformedintocapitalonlywhenithasreachedacertainsize，varyingaccordingtothecircumstances，butineachcasedefiniteminimumsize——thisfactisaproofofthecorrectnessoftheHegelianlaw。HerrDühringmakeshimsay:Because，accordingtotheHegelianlaw，quantitychangesintoquality，“therefore““anadvance，whenitreachesacertainsize，becomescapital“{D。K。G。498}。Thatistosay，theveryopposite。

InconnectionwithHerrDühring’sexaminationoftheDarwincase，wehavealreadygottoknowhishabit，“intheinterestsofcompletetruth“andbecauseofhis“dutytothepublicwhichisfreefromthebondsoftheguilds“{507}，ofquotingincorrectly。Itbecomesmoreandmoreevidentthatthishabitisaninnernecessityofthephilosophyofreality，anditiscertainlyavery“summarytreatment“{507}。NottomentionthefactthatHerrDühringfurthermakesMarxspeakofanykindof“advance“

whatsoever，whereasMarxonlyreferstoanadvancemadeintheformofrawmaterials，instrumentsoflabour，andwages;andthatindoingthisHerrDühringsucceedsinmakingMarxspeakpurenonsense。Andthenhehasthecheektodescribeascomicthenonsensewhichhehimselfhasfabricated。JustashebuiltupaDarwinofhisownfantasyinordertotryouthisstrengthagainsthim，soherehebuildsupafantasticMarx。

“Historicaldepictioninthegrandstyle“{556}，indeed！

Wehavealreadyseenearlier，whendiscussingworldschematism，thatinconnectionwiththisHegeliannodallineofmeasurerelations——

inwhichquantitativechangesuddenlypassesatcertainpointsintoqualitativetransformation——HerrDühringhadalittleaccident:inaweakmomenthehimselfrecognisedandmadeuseofthisline。Wegavethereoneofthebest-knownexamples——thatofthechangeoftheaggregatestatesofwater，whichundernormalatmosphericpressurechangesat0°Cfromtheliquidintothesolidstate，andat100°Cfromtheliquidintothegaseousstate，sothatatboththeseturning-pointsthemerelyquantitativechangeoftemperaturebringsaboutaqualitativechangeintheconditionofthewater。

Inproofofthislawwemighthavecitedhundredsofothersimilarfactsfromnatureaswellasfromhumansociety。Thus，forexample，thewholeofPartIVofMarx’sCapital——productionofrelativesurplus-value——deals，inthefieldofco-operation，divisionoflabourandmanufacture，machineryandmodernindustry，withinnumerablecasesinwhichquantitativechangealtersthequality，andalsoqualitativechangealtersthequantity，ofthethingsunderconsideration;inwhichtherefore，tousetheexpressionsohatedbyHerrDühring，quantityistransformedintoqualityandviceversa。Asforexamplethefactthattheco-operationofanumberofpeople，thefusionofmanyforcesintoonesingleforce，creates，touseMarx’sphrase，a“newpower“，whichisessentiallydifferentfromthesumofitsseparateforces。

Overandabovethis，inthepassagewhich，intheinterestsofcompletetruth，HerrDühringpervertedintoitsopposite，Marxhadaddedafootnote:“ThemoleculartheoryofmodernchemistryfirstscientificallyworkedoutbyLaurentandGerhardtrestsonnootherlaw。”’ButwhatdidthatmattertoHerrDühring？Heknewthat:

“theeminentlymoderneducativeelementsprovidedbythenatural-scientificmodeofthoughtarelackingpreciselyamongthosewho，likeMarxandhisrivalLassalle，makehalf-scienceandalittlephilosophisticsthemeagreequipmentwithwhichtovampuptheirlearning“{D。K。G。504}——whilewithHerrDühring“themainachievementsofexactknowledgeinmechanics，physicsandchemistry“{D。Ph。517}andsoforthserveasthebasis——wehaveseenhow。However，inordertoenablethirdpersons，too，toreachadecisioninthematter，weshalllookalittlemorecloselyintotheexamplecitedinMarx’sfootnote。

Whatisreferredtohereisthehomologousseriesofcarboncompounds，ofwhichagreatmanyarealreadyknownandeachofwhichhasitsownalgebraicformulaofcomposition。If，forexample，asisdoneinchemistry，wedenoteanatomofcarbonbyC，anatomofhydrogenbyH，anatomofoxygenbyO，andthenumberofatomsofcarboncontainedineachcompoundbyn，themolecularformulasforsomeoftheseseriescanbeexpressedasfollows:

CnH2n+2——theseriesofnormalparaffinsCnH2n+2——theseriesofprimaryalcoholsCnH2nO2——theseriesofthemonobasicfattyacids。

Letustakeasanexamplethelastoftheseseries，andletusassumesuccessivelythatn=l，n=2，n=3，etc。Wethenobtainthefollowingresults(omittingtheisomers):

CH2O2——formicacid——boilingpoint100°meltingpoint1°

C2H4O2——aceticacid118°meltingpoint17°

C3H6O2——propionicacid140°““

C4H8O2——butyricacid162°

C5H10O2——valerianicacid175°andsoontoC50H60O2，melissicacid，whichmeltsonlyat80°andhasnoboilingpointatall，becauseitcannotevaporatewithoutdisintegrating。

Herethereforewehaveawholeseriesofqualitativelydifferentbodies，formedbythesimplequantitativeadditionofelements，andinfactalwaysinthesameproportion。Thisismostclearlyevidentincaseswherethequantityofalltheelementsofthecompoundchangesinthesameproportion。Thus，inthenormalparaffinsCnH2n+2，thelowestismethane，CH4，agas;thehighestknown，hexadecane，C16H34，isasolidbodyformingcolourlesscrystalswhichmeltsat21°andboilsonlyat278°。

EachnewmemberofbothseriescomesintoexistencethroughtheadditionofCH2，oneatomofcarbonandtwoatomsofhydrogen，tothemolecularformulaoftheprecedingmember，andthisquantitativechangeinthemolecularformulaproduceseachtimeaqualitativelydifferentbody。

Theseseries，however，areonlyoneparticularlyobviousexample;

throughoutpracticallythewholeofchemistry，eveninthevariousnitrogenoxidesandoxygenacidsofphosphorusorsulphur，onecanseehow“quantitychangesintoquality“，andthisallegedlyconfused，hazyHegeliannotionappearsinsotospeakcorporealforminthingsandprocesses——andnoonebutHerrDühringisconfusedandbefoggedbyit。AndifMarxwasthefirsttocallattentiontoit，andifHerrDühringreadthereferencewithoutevenunderstandingit(otherwisehewouldcertainlynothaveallowedthisunparalleledoutragetopassunchallenged)，thisisenough——evenwithoutlookingbackatthefamousDühringianphilosophyofnature——tomakeitclearwhichofthetwo，MarxorHerrDühring，islackingin“theeminentlymoderneducativeelementsprovidedbythenatural-scientificmodeofthought“{D。K。G。504}andinacquaintancewiththe“mainachievementsof……chemistry“{D。Ph。517}。

Inconclusionweshallcallonemorewitnessforthetransformationofquantityintoquality，namely——Napoleon。HedescribesthecombatbetweentheFrenchcavalry，whowerebadridersbutdisciplined，andtheMamelukes，whowereundoubtedlythebesthorsemenoftheirtimeforsinglecombat，butlackeddiscipline，asfollows:

“TwoMamelukeswereundoubtedlymorethanamatchforthreeFrenchmen;

100Mamelukeswereequalto100Frenchmen;300Frenchmencouldgenerallybeat300Mamelukes，and1，000Frenchmeninvariablydefeated1，500Mamelukes。”

JustaswithMarxadefinite，thoughvarying，minimumsumofexchange-valueswasnecessarytomakepossibleitstransformationintocapital，sowithNapoleonadetachmentofcavalryhadtobeofadefiniteminimumnumberinordertomakeitpossiblefortheforceofdiscipline，embodiedinclosedorderandplannedutilisation，tomanifestitselfandrisesuperioreventogreaternumbersofirregularcavalry，inspiteofthelatterbeingbettermounted，moredexteroushorsemenandfighters，andatleastasbraveastheformer。ButwhatdoesthisproveasagainstHerrDühring？WasnotNapoleonmiserablyvanquishedinhisconflictwithEurope？Didhenotsufferdefeatafterdefeat？Andwhy？Solelyinconsequenceofhavingintroducedtheconfused，hazyHegeliannotionintocavalrytactics！

XIII。

DIALECTICS。

NEGATIONOFTHENEGATION“Thishistoricalsketch“(ofthegenesisoftheso-calledprimitiveaccumulationofcapitalinEngland)“isrelativelythebestpartofMarx’sbook，andwouldbeevenbetterifithadnotreliedonthedialecticalcrutchtohelpoutitsscholarlycrutch。TheHegeliannegationofthenegation，indefaultofanythingbetterandclearer，hasinfacttoservehereasthemidwifetodeliverthefuturefromthewombofthepast。Theabolitionof’individualproperty’，whichsincethesixteenthcenturyhasbeeneffectedinthewayindicatedabove，isthefirstnegation。

Itwillbefollowedbyasecond，whichbearsthecharacterofanegationofthenegationandhenceofarestorationof’individualproperty’，butinahigherform，basedonthecommonownershipoflandandoftheinstrumentsoflabour。HerrMarxcallsthisnew’individualproperty’also’socialproperty’，andinthisthereappearstheHegelianhigherunity，inwhichthecontradictionissupposedtobesublated，thatistosay，intheHegelianverbaljugglery，bothovercomeandpreserved……Accordingtothis，theexpropriationoftheexpropriatorsis，asitwere，theautomaticresultofhistoricalrealityinitsmateriallyexternalrelations……Itwouldbedifficulttoconvinceasensiblemanofthenecessityofthecommonownershipoflandandcapital，onthebasisofcredenceinHegelianwordjugglingsuchasthenegationofthenegation{D。K。G。502-03}……ThenebuloushybridsofMarx’sconceptionswillnothoweverappearstrangetoanyonewhorealiseswhatnonsensecanbeconcoctedwithHegeliandialecticsasthescientificbasis，orratherwhatnonsensemustnecessarilyspringfromit。Forthebenefitofthereaderwhoisnotfamiliarwiththeseartifices，itmustbepointedoutexpresslythatHegel’sfirstnegationisthecatechismalideaofthefallfromgraceandhissecondisthatofahigherunityleadingtoredemption。Thelogicoffactscanhardlybebasedonthisnonsensicalanalogyborrowedfromthereligioussphere{504}……HerrMarxremainscheerfullyinthenebulousworldofhispropertywhichisatoncebothindividualandsocialandleavesittohisadeptstosolveforthemselvesthisprofounddialecticalenigma“{505}

ThusfarHerrDühring。

SoMarxhasnootherwayofprovingthenecessityofthesocialrevolution，ofestablishingthecommonownershipoflandandofthemeansofproductionproducedbylabour，exceptbycitingtheHegeliannegationofthenegation;andbecausehebaseshissocialisttheoryonthesenonsensicalanalogiesborrowedfromreligion，hearrivesattheresultthatinthesocietyofthefuturetherewillbedominantanownershipatoncebothindividualandsocial，asHegelianhigherunityofthesublatedcontradiction。

Butletthenegationofthenegationrestforthemomentandletushavealookatthe“ownership“whichis“atoncebothindividualandsocial“。HerrDühringcharacterisesthisasa“nebulousworld“，andcuriouslyenoughheisreallyrightonthispoint。Unfortunately，however，itisnotMarxbutagainHerrDühringhimselfwhoisinthisnebulousworld。JustashisdexterityinhandlingtheHegelianmethodof“deliriousraving“{D。Ph。227，449}enabledhimwithoutanydifficultytodeterminewhatthestillunfinishedvolumesofCapitalaresuretocontain，sohere，too，withoutanygreatefforthecanputMarxrightà

laHegel，byimputingtohimthehigherunityofaproperty，ofwhichthereisnotawordinMarx。

Marxsays:“Itisthenegationofnegation。Thisre-establishesindividualproperty，butonthebasisoftheacquisitionsofthecapitalistera，i。e。，onco-operationoffreeworkersandtheirpossessionincommonofthelandandofthemeansofproductionproducedbylabour。Thetransformationofscatteredprivateproperty，arisingfromindividuallabour，intocapitalistprivatepropertyis，naturally，aprocess，incomparablymoreprotracted，arduous，anddifficult，thanthetransformationofcapitalisticprivateproperty，alreadypracticallyrestingonsocialisedproduction，intosocialisedproperty。”[K。Marx，DasKapital，p。793。]Thatisall。Thestateofthingsbroughtaboutbytheexpropriationoftheexpropriatorsisthereforecharacterisedasthere-establishmentofindividualproperty，butonthebasisofthesocialownershipofthelandandofthemeansofproductionproducedbylabouritself。Toanyonewhounderstandsplaintalkthismeansthatsocialownershipextendstothelandandtheothermeansofproduction，andindividualownershiptotheproducts，thatis，thearticlesofconsumption。

Andinordertomakethemattercomprehensibleeventochildrenofsix，Marxassumesonpage56“acommunityoffreeindividuals，carryingontheirworkwiththemeansofproductionincommon，inwhichthelabour-powerofallthedifferentindividualsisconsciouslyappliedasthecombinedlabour-powerofthecommunity“，thatis，asocietyorganisedonasocialistbasis;andhecontinues:“Thetotalproductofourcommunityisasocialproduct。Oneportionservesasfreshmeansofproductionandremainssocial。Butanotherportionisconsumedbythemembersasmeansofsubsistence。Adistributionofthisportionamongstthemisconsequentlynecessary。”AndsurelythatisclearenoughevenforHerrDühring，inspiteofhishavingHegelonhisbrain。

Thepropertywhichisatoncebothindividualandsocial，thisconfusinghybrid，thisnonsensewhichnecessarilyspringsfromHegeliandialectics，thisnebulousworld，thisprofounddialecticalenigma，whichMarxleaveshisadeptstosolveforthemselves——isyetanotherfreecreationandimaginationonthepartofHerrDühring。Marx，asanallegedHegelian，isobligedtoproducearealhigherunity，astheoutcomeofthenegationofthenegation，andasMarxdoesnotdothistoHerrDühring’staste，thelatterhastofallagainintohishigherandnoblerstyle，andintheinterestsofcompletetruthimputetoMarxthingswhicharetheproductsofHerrDühring’sownmanufacture。Amanwhoistotallyincapableofquotingcorrectly，evenbywayofexception，maywellbecomemorallyindignantatthe“Chineseerudition“{D。K。G。506}ofotherpeople，whoalwaysquotecorrectly，butpreciselybydoingthis“inadequatelyconcealtheirlackofinsightintothetotalityofideasofthevariouswritersfromwhomtheyquote“。HerrDühringisright。Longlivehistoricaldepictioninthegrandstyle{556}！

UptothispointwehaveproceededfromtheassumptionthatHerrDühring’spersistenthabitofmisquotingisdoneatleastingoodfaith，andariseseitherfromhistotalincapacitytounderstandthingsorfromahabitofquotingfrommemory——ahabitwhichseemstobepeculiartohistoricaldepictioninthegrandstyle，butisusuallydescribedasslovenly。Butweseemtohavereachedthepointatwhich，evenwithHerrDühring，quantityistransformedintoquality。ForwemusttakeintoconsiderationinthefirstplacethatthepassageinMarxisinitselfperfectlyclearandismoreoveramplifiedinthesamebookbyafurtherpassagewhichleavesnoroomwhateverformisunderstanding;secondly，thatHerrDühringhaddiscoveredthemonstrosityof“propertywhichisatoncebothindividualandsocial“{505}neitherinthecritiqueofCapital，intheErgäntungsblätterwhichwasreferredtoabove，noreveninthecritiquecontainedinthefirsteditionofhisKritischeGeschichte，butonlyinthesecondedition——thatis，onthethirdreadingofCapital;further，thatinthissecondedition，whichwasrewritteninasocialistsense，itwasdeemednecessarybyHerrDühringtomakeMarxsaytheutmostpossiblenonsenseaboutthefutureorganisationofsociety，inordertoenablehim，incontrast，tobringforwardallthemoretriumphantly——asheinfactdoes——“theeconomiccommuneasdescribedbymeineconomicandjuridicaloutlineinmyCursus“{504}——

whenwetakeallthisintoconsideration，wearealmostforcedtotheconclusionthatHerrDühringhasheredeliberatelymadea“beneficentextension“ofMarx’sidea——beneficentforHerrDühring。

ButwhatroledoesthenegationofthenegationplayinMarx？

Onpage791andthefollowingpageshesetsoutthefinalconclusionswhichhedrawsfromtheprecedingfiftypagesofeconomicandhistoricalinvestigationintotheso-calledprimitiveaccumulationofcapital。[62]Beforethecapitalistera，pettyindustryexisted，atleastinEngland，onthebasiso/theprivatepropertyofthelabourerinhismeansofproduction。

Theso-calledprimitiveaccumulationofcapitalconsistedthereintheexpropriationoftheseimmediateproducers，thatis，inthedissolutionofprivatepropertybasedonthelabourofitsowner。Thisbecamepossiblebecausethepettyindustryreferredtoaboveiscompatibleonlywithnarrowandprimitiveboundsofproductionandsocietyandatacertainstagebringsforththematerialagenciesforitsownannihilation。Thisannihilation，thetransformationoftheindividualandscatteredmeansofproductionintosociallyconcentratedones，formstheprehistoryofcapital。Assoonasthelabourersareturnedintoproletarians，theirconditionsoflabourintocapital，assoonasthecapitalistmodeofproductionstandsonitsownfeet，thefurthersocialisationoflabourandfurthertransformationofthelandandothermeansofproduction，andthereforethefurtherexpropriationofprivateproprietors，takesanewform。“Thatwhichisnowtobeexpropriatedisnolongerthelabourerworkingforhimself，butthecapitalistexploitingmanylabourers。Thisexpropriationisaccomplishedbytheactionoftheimmanentlawsofcapitalisticproductionitself，bytheconcentrationofcapitals。Onecapitalistalwayskillsmany。Handinhandwiththisconcentration，orthisexpropriationofmanycapitalistsbyfew，develop，onaneverextendingscale，theco-operativeformofthelabour-process，theconscioustechnicalapplicationofscience，themethodicalcollectivecultivationofthesoil，thetransformationoftheinstrumentsoflabourintoinstrumentsoflabouronlyusableincommon，theeconomisingofallmeansofproductionbytheiruseasthejointlyownedmeansofproductionofcombined，socialisedlabour。

Alongwiththeconstantlydiminishingnumberofthemagnatesofcapital，whousurpandmonopolisealladvantagesofthisprocessoftransformation，growsthemassofmisery，oppression，slavery，degradation，exploitation;

butwiththistoogrowstherevoltoftheworkingclass，aclassalwaysincreasinginnumbers，anddisciplined，united，organisedbytheverymechanismoftheprocessofcapitalistproductionitself。Capitalbecomesafetteruponthemodeofproduction，whichhassprungupandflourishedalongwith，andunderit。Concentrationofthemeansofproductionandsocialisationoflabouratlastreachapointwheretheybecomeincompatiblewiththeircapitalistintegument。Thisintegumentisburstasunder。Theknellofcapitalistprivatepropertysounds。Theexpropriatorsareexpropriated。”

AndnowIaskthereader:wherearethedialecticalfrillsandmazesandconceptualarabesques;wherethemixedandmisconceivedideasaccordingtowhicheverythingisalloneandthesamethingintheend;

wherethedialecticalmiraclesforhisfaithfulfollowers;wherethemysteriousdialecticalrubbishandthemazeinaccordancewiththeHegelianLogosdoctrine，withoutwhichMarx，accordingtoHerrDühring，isunabletoputhisexpositionintoshape？Marxmerelyshowsfromhistory，andherestatesinasummarisedform，thatjustasformerlypettyindustrybyitsverydevelopmentnecessarilycreatedtheconditionsofitsownannihilation，i。e。，oftheexpropriationofthesmallproprietors，sonowthecapitalistmodeofproductionhaslikewiseitselfcreatedthematerialconditionsfromwhichitmustperish。Theprocessisahistoricalone，andifitisatthesametimeadialecticalprocess，thisisnotMarx’sfault，howeverannoyingitmaybetoHerrDühring。

Itisonlyatthispoint，afterMarxhascompletedhisproofonthebasisofhistoricalandeconomicfacts，thatheproceeds:“Thecapitalistmodeofproductionandappropriation，hencethecapitalistprivateproperty，isthefirstnegationofindividualprivatepropertyfoundedonthelabouroftheproprietor。Capitalistproductionbegets，withtheinexorabilityofaprocessofnature，itsownnegation。Itisthenegationofthenegation“——

andsoon(asquotedabove)。

Thus，bycharacterisingtheprocessasthenegationofthenegation，Marxdoesnotintendtoprovethattheprocesswashistoricallynecessary。

Onthecontrary:onlyafterhehasprovedfromhistorythatinfacttheprocesshaspartiallyalreadyoccurred，andpartiallymustoccurinthefuture，heinadditioncharacterisesitasaprocesswhichdevelopsinaccordancewithadefinitedialecticallaw。Thatisall。ItisthereforeonceagainapuredistortionofthefactsbyHerrDühringwhenhedeclaresthatthenegationofthenegationhastoservehereasthemidwifetodeliverthefuturefromthewombofthepast{D。K。G。502-03}，orthatMarxwantsanyonetobeconvincedofthenecessityofthecommonownershipoflandandcapital{503}(whichisitselfaDühringiancontradictionincorporealform)onthebasisofcredenceinthenegationofthenegation{479-80}。

HerrDühring’stotallackofunderstandingofthenatureofdialecticsisshownbytheveryfactthatheregardsitasamereproof-producinginstrument，asalimitedmindmightlookuponformallogicorelementarymathematics。Evenformallogicisprimarilyamethodofarrivingatnewresults，ofadvancingfromtheknowntotheunknown——anddialecticsisthesame，onlymuchmoreeminentlyso;moreover，sinceitforcesitswaybeyondthenarrowhorizonofformallogic，itcontainsthegermofamorecomprehensiveviewoftheworld。Thesamecorrelationexistsinmathematics。

Elementarymathematics，themathematicsofconstantquantities，moveswithintheconfinesofformallogic，atanyrateonthewhole;themathematicsofvariables，whosemostimportantpartistheinfinitesimalcalculus，isinessencenothingotherthantheapplicationofdialecticstomathematicalrelations。Init，thesimplequestionofproofisdefinitelypushedintothebackground，ascomparedwiththemanifoldapplicationofthemethodtonewspheresofresearch。Butalmostalltheproofsofhighermathematics，fromthefirstproofsofthedifferentialcalculuson，arefromthestandpointofelementarymathematicsstrictlyspeaking，wrong。Andthisisnecessarilyso，when，ashappensinthiscase，anattemptismadetoprovebyformallogicresultsobtainedinthefieldofdialectics。ToattempttoproveanythingbymeansofdialecticsalonetoacrassmetaphysicianlikeHerrDühringwouldbeasmuchawasteoftimeaswastheattemptmadebyLeibnizandhispupilstoprovetheprinciplesoftheinfinitesimalcalculustothemathematiciansoftheirtime。ThedifferentialgavethemthesamecrampsasHerrDühringgetsfromthenegationofthenegation，inwhich，moreover，asweshallsee，thedifferentialalsoplaysacertainrole。Finallythesegentlemen——orthoseofthemwhohadnotdiedintheinterval——grudginglygaveway，notbecausetheywereconvinced，butbecauseitalwayscameoutright。HerrDühring，ashehimselftellsus，isonlyinhisforties，andifheattainsoldage，aswehopehemay，perhapshisexperiencewillbethesame。

Butwhatthenisthisfearfulnegationofthenegation，whichmakeslifesobitterforHerrDühringandwithhimplaysthesameroleoftheunpardonablecrimeasthesinagainsttheHolyGhostdoesinChristianity？——Averysimpleprocesswhichistakingplaceeverywhereandeveryday，whichanychildcanunderstandassoonasitisstrippedoftheveilofmysteryinwhichitwasenvelopedbytheoldidealistphilosophyandinwhichitistotheadvantageofhelplessmetaphysiciansofHerrDühring’scalibretokeepitenveloped。Letustakeagrainofbarley。

Billionsofsuchgrainsofbarleyaremilled，boiledandbrewedandthenconsumed。Butifsuchagrainofbarleymeetswithconditionswhicharenormalforit，ifitfallsonsuitablesoil，thenundertheinfluenceofheatandmoistureitundergoesaspecificchange，itgerminates;thegrainassuchceasestoexist，itisnegated，andinitsplaceappearstheplantwhichhasarisenfromit，thenegationofthegrain。Butwhatisthenormallife-processofthisplant？Itgrows，flowers，isfertilisedandfinallyoncemoreproducesgrainsofbarley，andassoonasthesehaveripenedthestalkdies，isinitsturnnegated。Asaresultofthisnegationofthenegationwehaveonceagaintheoriginalgrainofbarley，butnotasasingleunit，butten-，twenty-orthirtyfold。Speciesofgrainchangeextremelyslowly，andsothebarleyoftodayisalmostthesameasit-wasacenturyago。Butifwetakeaplasticornamentalplant，forexampleadahliaoranorchid，andtreattheseedandtheplantwhichgrowsfromitaccordingtothegardener’sart，wegetasaresultofthisnegationofthenegationnotonlymoreseeds，butalsoqualitativelyimprovedseeds，whichproducemorebeautifulflowers，andeachrepetitionofthisprocess，eachfreshnegationofthenegation，enhancesthisprocessofperfection——

Withmostinsects，thisprocessfollowsthesamelinesasinthecaseofthegrainofbarley。Butterflies，forexample，springfromtheeggbyanegationoftheegg，passthroughcertaintransformationsuntiltheyreachsexualmaturity，pairandareinturnnegated，dyingassoonasthepairingprocesshasbeencompletedandthefemalehaslaiditsnumerouseggs。Wearenotconcernedatthemomentwiththefactthatwithotherplantsandanimalstheprocessdoesnottakesuchasimpleform，thatbeforetheydietheyproduceseeds，eggsoroffspringnotoncebutmanytimes;

ourpurposehereisonlytoshowthatthenegationofthenegationreallydoestakeplaceinbothkingdomsoftheorganicworld。Furthermore，thewholeofgeologyisaseriesofnegatednegations，aseriesofsuccessivechatteringsofoldanddepositsofnewrockformations。Firsttheoriginalearthcrustbroughtintoexistencebythecoolingoftheliquidmasswasbrokenupbyoceanic，meteorologicalandatmospherico-chemicalaction，andthesefragmentedmasseswerestratifiedontheoceanbed。Localupheavalsoftheoceanbedabovethesurfaceoftheseasubjectportionsofthesefirststrataoncemoretotheactionofrain，thechangingtemperatureoftheseasonsandtheoxygenandcarbonicacidoftheatmosphere。Thesesameinfluencesactonthemoltenmassesofrockwhichissuefromtheinterioroftheearth，breakthroughthestrataandsubsequentlycooloff。Inthisway，inthecourseofmillionsofcenturies，evernewstrataareformedandinturnareforthemostpartdestroyed，everanewservingasmaterialfortheformationofnewstrata。Buttheresultofthisprocesshasbeenaverypositiveone:thecreationofasoilcomposedofthemostvariedchemicalelementsandmechanicallyfragmented，whichmakespossiblethemostabundantanddiversifiedvegetation。

Itisthesameinmathematics。Letustakeanyalgebraicquantitywhatever:forexample，a。Ifthisisnegated，weget-a(minusa)。Ifwenegatethatnegation，bymultiplying-aby-a，weget+a2，i。e。，theoriginalpositivequantity，butatahigherdegree，raised-toitssecondpower。Inthiscasealsoitmakesnodifferencethatwecanobtainthesamea2bymultiplyingthepositiveabyitself，thuslikewisegettinga2。Forthenegatednegationissosecurelyentrenchedina2thatthelatteralwayshastwosquareroots，namely，aand——a。Andthefactthatitisimpossibletogetridofthenegatednegation，thenegativerootofthesquare，acquiresveryobvioussignificanceassoonaswecometoquadraticequations——Thenegationofthenegationisevenmorestrikinglyobviousinhigheranalysis，inthose“summationsofindefinitelysmallmagnitudes“{D。Ph。418}whichHerrDühringhimselfdeclaresarethehighestoperationsofmathematics，andinordinarylanguageareknownasthedifferentialandintegralcalculus。Howaretheseformsofcalculusused？Inagivenproblem，forexample，Ihavetwovariables，xandy，neitherofwhichcanvarywithouttheotheralsovaryinginaratiodeterminedbythefactsofthecase。Idifferentiatexandy，i。e。，Itakexandyassoinfinitelysmallthatincomparisonwithanyrealquantity，howeversmall，theydisappear，thatnothingisleftofxandybuttheirreciprocalrelationwithoutany，sotospeak，materialbasis，aquantitativeratioinwhichthereisnoquantity。Therefore，dy/dx，theratiobetweenthedifferentialsofxandy，isdxequalto0/0but0/0takenastheexpressionofy/x。Ionlymentioninpassingthatthisratiobetweentwoquantitieswhichhavedisappeared，caughtatthemomentoftheirdisappearance，isacontradiction;however，itcannotdisturbusanymorethanithasdisturbedthewholeofmathematicsforalmosttwohundredyears。Andnow，whathaveIdonebutnegatexandy，thoughnotinsuchawaythatIneednotbotheraboutthemanymore，notinthewaythatmetaphysicsnegates，butinthewaythatcorrespondswiththefactsofthecase？Inplaceofxandy，therefore，Ihavetheirnegation，dxanddy，intheformulasorequationsbeforeme。Icontinuethentooperatewiththeseformulas，treatingdxanddyasquantitieswhicharereal，thoughsubjecttocertainexceptionallaws，andatacertainpointInegatethenegation，i。e。，Iintegratethedifferentialformula，andinplaceofdxanddyagaingettherealquantitiesxandy，andamthennotwhereIwasatthebeginning，butbyusingthismethodIhavesolvedtheproblemonwhichordinarygeometryandalgebramightperhapshavebrokentheirjawsinvain。

Itisthesameinhistory，aswell。Allcivilisedpeoplesbeginwiththecommonownershipoftheland。Withallpeopleswhohavepassedacertainprimitivestage，thiscommonownershipbecomesinthecourseofthedevelopmentofagricultureafetteronproduction。Itisabolished，negated，andafteralongerorshorterseriesofintermediatestagesistransformedintoprivateproperty。Butatahigherstageofagriculturaldevelopment，broughtaboutbyprivatepropertyinlanditself，privatepropertyconverselybecomesafetteronproduction，asisthecasetodaybothwithsmallandlargelandownership。Thedemandthatit，too，shouldbenegated，thatitshouldonceagainbetransformedintocommonproperty，necessarilyarises。Butthisdemanddoesnotmeantherestorationoftheaboriginalcommonownership，buttheinstitutionofafarhigherandmoredevelopedformofpossessionincommonwhich，farfrombeingahindrancetoproduction，onthecontraryforthefirsttimewillfreeproductionfromallfettersandenableittomakefulluseofmodernchemicaldiscoveriesandmechanicalinventions。

Orletustakeanotherexample:Thephilosophyofantiquitywasprimitive，spontaneouslyevolvedmaterialism。Assuch，itwasincapableofclearinguptherelationbetweenmindandmatter。Buttheneedtogetclarityonthisquestionledtothedoctrineofasoulseparablefromthebody，thentotheassertionoftheimmortalityofthissoul，andfinallytomonotheism。Theoldmaterialismwasthereforenegatedbyidealism。Butinthecourseofthefurtherdevelopmentofphilosophy，idealism，too，becameuntenableandwasnegatedbymodernmaterialism。Thismodernmaterialism，thenegationofthenegation，isnotthemerere-establishmentoftheold，butaddstothepermanentfoundationsofthisoldmaterialismthewholethought-contentoftwothousandyearsofdevelopmentofphilosophyandnaturalscience，aswellasofthehistoryofthesetwothousandyears。

Itisnolongeraphilosophyatall，butsimplyaworldoutlookwhichhastoestablishitsvalidityandbeappliednotinascienceofsciencesstandingapart，butintherealsciences。Philosophyistherefore“sublated“here，thatis，“bothovercomeandpreserved“{D。K。G。503};overcomeasregardsitsform，andpreservedasregardsitsrealcontent。Thus，whereHerrDühringseesonly“verbaljugglery“，closerinspectionrevealsanactualcontent。

Finally:EventheRousseaudoctrineofequality——ofwhichDühring’sisonlyafeebleanddistortedecho——couldnothaveseenthelightbutforthemidwife’sservicesrenderedbytheHegeliannegationofthenegation{502-03}——thoughitwasnearlytwentyyearsbeforeHegelwasborn。[63]Andfarfrombeingashamedofthis，thedoctrineinitsfirstpresentationbearsalmostostentatiouslytheimprintofitsdialecticalorigin。Inthestateofnatureandsavagerymenwereequal;andasRousseauregardsevenlanguageasaperversionofthestateofnature，heisfullyjustifiedinextendingtheequalityofanimalswithinthelimitsofasinglespeciesalsototheanimal-menrecentlyclassifiedbyHaeckelhypotheticallyasAlali:speechless。Buttheseequalanimal-menhadonequalitywhichgavethemanadvantageovertheotheranimals:perfectibility，thecapacitytodevelopfurther;andthisbecamethecauseofinequality。SoRousseauregardstheriseofinequalityasprogress。Butthisprogresscontainedanantagonism:itwasatthesametimeretrogression。

“Allfurtherprogress“(beyondtheoriginalstate)“meantsomanystepsseeminglytowardstheperfectionoftheindividualman，butinrealitytowardsthedecayoftherace……Metallurgyandagriculturewerethetwoartsthediscoveryofwhichproducedthisgreatrevolution“(thetransformationoftheprimevalforestintocultivatedland，butalongwiththistheintroductionofpovertyandslaverythroughproperty)。“Forthepoetitisgoldandsilver，butforthephilosopherironandcorn，whichhavecivilisedmenandruinedthehumanrace。”

Eachnewadvanceofcivilisationisatthesametimeanewadvanceofinequality。

Allinstitutionssetupbythesocietywhichhasarisenwithcivilisationchangeintotheoppositeoftheiroriginalpurpose。

“Itisanincontestablefact，andthefundamentalprincipleofallpubliclaw，thatthepeoplessetuptheirchieftainstosafeguardtheirlibertyandnottoenslavethem。”

Andneverthelessthechiefsnecessarilybecometheoppressorsofthepeoples，andintensifytheiroppressionuptothepointatwhichinequality，carriedtotheutmostextreme，againchangesintoitsopposite，becomesthecauseofequality:beforethedespotallareequal——equallyciphers。

“Herewehavetheextrememeasureofinequality，thefinalpointwhichcompletesthecircleandmeetsthepointfromwhichwesetout:hereallprivateindividualsbecomeequaloncemore，justbecausetheyareciphers，andthesubjectshavenootherlawbuttheirmaster’swill。”

Butthedespotisonlymastersolongasheisabletouseforceandtherefore“whenheisdrivenout“，hecannot“complainoftheuseofforce……Forcealonemaintainedhiminpower，andforcealoneoverthrowshim;thuseverythingtakesitsnaturalcourse“。

Andsoinequalityoncemorechangesintoequality;not，however，intotheformernaiveequalityofspeechlessprimitivemen，butintothehigherequalityofthesocialcontract。Theoppressorsareoppressed。Itisthenegationofthenegation。

AlreadyinRousseau，therefore，wefindnotonlyalineofthoughtwhichcorrespondsexactlytotheonedevelopedinMarx’sCapital，butalso，indetails，awholeseriesofthesamedialecticalturnsofspeechasMarxused:processeswhichintheirnatureareantagonistic，containacontradiction;transformationofoneextremeintoitsopposite;andfinally，asthekernelofthewholething，thenegationofthenegation。Andthoughin1754RousseauwasnotyetabletospeaktheHegelianjargon{D。K。G。

491}，hewascertainly，sixteenyearsbeforeHegelwasborn，deeplybittenwiththeHegelianpestilence，dialecticsofcontradiction，Logosdoctrine，theologies，andsoforth。AndwhenHerrDühring，inhisshallowversionofRousseau’stheoryofequality，beginstooperatewithhisvictorioustwomen，heishimselfalreadyontheinclinedplanedownwhichhemustslidehelplesslyintothearmsofthenegationofthenegation。Thestateofthingsinwhichtheequalityofthetwomenflourished，whichwasalsodescribedasanidealone，ischaracterisedonpage271ofhisPhilosophieasthe“primitivestate“。Thisprimitivestate，however，accordingtopage279，wasnecessarilysublatedbythe“robbersystem“——thefirstnegation。

Butnow，thankstothephilosophyofreality，wehavegonesofarastoabolishtherobbersystemandestablishinitssteadtheeconomiccommune{504}basedonequalitywhichhasbeendiscoveredbyHerrDühring——negationofthenegation，equalityonahigherplane。Whatadelightfulspectacle，andhowbeneficentlyitextendsourrangeofvision:HerrDühring’seminentselfcommittingthecapitalcrimeofthenegationofthenegation！

Andso，whatisthenegationofthenegation？Anextremelygeneral——andforthisreasonextremelyfar-reachingandimportant——lawofdevelopmentofnature，history，andthought;alawwhich，aswehaveseen，holdsgoodintheanimalandplantkingdoms，ingeology，inmathematics，inhistoryandinphilosophy——alawwhichevenHerrDühring，inspiteofallhisstubbornresistance，hasunwittinglyandinhisownwaytofollow。

ItisobviousthatIdonotsayanythingconcerningtheparticularprocessofdevelopmentof，forexample，agrainofbarleyfromgerminationtothedeathofthefruit-bearingplant，ifIsayitisanegationofthenegation。For，astheintegralcalculusisalsoanegationofthenegation，ifIsaidanythingofthesortIshouldonlybemakingthenonsensicalstatementthatthelife-processofabarleyplantwasintegralcalculusorforthatmatterthatitwassocialism。That，however，ispreciselywhatthemetaphysiciansareconstantlyimputingtodialectics。WhenIsaythatalltheseprocessesareanegationofthenegation，Ibringthemalltogetherunderthisonelawofmotion，andforthisveryreasonIleaveoutofaccountthespecificpeculiaritiesofeachindividualprocess。Dialectics，however，isnothingmorethanthescienceofthegenerallawsofmotionanddevelopmentofnature，humansocietyandthought。

Butsomeonemayobject:thenegationthathastakenplaceinthiscaseisnotarealnegation:InegateagrainofbarleyalsowhenIgrindit，aninsectwhenIcrushitunderfoot，orthepositivequantityawhenIcancelit，andsoon。OrInegatethesentence:theroseisarose，whenIsay:theroseisnotarose;andwhatdoIgetifIthennegatethisnegationandsay:butafteralltheroseisarose？——Theseobjectionsareinfactthechiefargumentsputforwardbythemetaphysiciansagainstdialectics，andtheyarewhollyworthyofthenarrow-mindednessofthismodeofthought。Negationindialecticsdoesnotmeansimplysayingno，ordeclaringthatsomethingdoesnotexist，ordestroyingitinanywayonelikes。LongagoSpinozasaid:Omnisdeterminatioestnegatio——everylimitationordeterminationisatthesametimeanegation。[64]Andfurther:thekindofnegationisheredetermined，firstly，bythegeneraland，secondly，bytheparticularnatureoftheprocess。Imustnotonlynegate，butalsosublatethenegation。Imustthereforesoarrangethefirstnegationthatthesecondremainsorbecomespossible。How？Thisdependsontheparticularnatureofeachindividualcase。IfIgrindagrainofbarley，orcrushaninsect，Ihavecarriedoutthefirstpartoftheaction，buthavemadethesecondpartimpossible。Everykindofthingthereforehasapeculiarwayofbeingnegatedinsuchmannerthatitgivesrisetoadevelopment，anditisjustthesamewitheverykindofconceptionoridea。Theinfinitesimalcalculusinvolvesaformofnegationwhichisdifferentfromthatusedintheformationofpositivepowersfromnegativeroots。

Thishastobelearnt，likeeverythingelse。Thebareknowledgethatthebarleyplantandtheinfinitesimalcalculusarebothgovernedbynegationofnegationdoesnotenablemeeithertogrowbarleysuccessfullyortodifferentiateandintegrate;justaslittleasthebareknowledgeofthelawsofthedeterminationofsoundbythedimensionsofthestringsenablesmetoplaytheviolin——Butitisclearthatfromanegationofthenegationwhichconsistsinthechildishpastimeofalternatelywritingandcancellinga，orinalternatelydeclaringthataroseisaroseandthatitisnotarose，nothingeventuatesbutthesillinessofthepersonwhoadoptssuchatediousprocedure。Andyetthemetaphysicianstrytomakeusbelievethatthisistherightwaytocarryoutanegationofthenegation，ifweevershouldwanttodosuchathing。

Onceagain，therefore，itisnoonebutHerrDühringwhoismystifyinguswhenheassertsthatthenegationofthenegationisastupidanalogyinventedbyHegel，borrowedfromthesphereofreligionandbasedonthestoryofthefallofmanandhisredemption{D。K。G。

504}。Menthoughtdialecticallylongbeforetheyknewwhatdialecticswas，justastheyspokeproselongbeforethetermproseexisted。[AnallusiontoMolière’scomedyLeBourgeoisgentilhomme，ActII，Scene6——Ed。]Thelawofnegationofthenegation，whichisunconsciouslyoperativeinnatureandhistoryand，untilithasbeenrecognised，alsoinourheads，wasonlyfirstclearlyformulatedbyHegel。AndifHerrDühringwantstooperatewithithimselfonthequietanditisonlythathecannotstandthename，thenlethimfindabettername。Butifhisaimistobanishtheprocessitselffromthought，wemustaskhimtobesogoodasfirsttobanishitfromnatureandhistoryandtoinventamathematicalsysteminwhich-ax-aisnot+a2andinwhichdifferentiationandintegrationareprohibitedunderseverepenalties。

XIV。

CONCLUSIONWehavenowfinishedwithphilosophy;suchotherfantasiesofthefutureastheCursuscontainswilldedealtwithwhenwecometoHerrDühring’srevolutioninsocialism。WhatdidHerrDühringpromiseus？Everything。Andwhatpromiseshashekept？None。“Theelementsofaphilosophywhichisrealandaccordinglydirectedtotherealityofnatureandoflife“{D。Ph。430}，the“strictlyscientific{387}conceptionoftheworld“，the“system-creatingideas“{525}，andallHerrDühring’sotherachievements，trumpetedforthtotheworldbyHerrDühringinhigh-soundingphrases，turnedout，whereverwelaidholdofthem，tobepurecharlatanism。Theworldschematismwhich，“withouttheslightestdetractionfromtheprofundityofthought，securelyestablishedthebasicformsofbeing“{556-57}，provedtobeaninfinitelyvulgarisedduplicateofHegelianlogic，andincommonwiththelattersharesthesuperstitionthatthese“basicforms“{9}orlogicalcategorieshaveledamysteriousexistencesomewherebeforeandoutsideoftheworld，towhichtheyare“tobeapplied“{15}。Thephilosophyofnatureofferedusacosmogonywhosestarting-pointisa“self-equalstateofmatter“{87}——astatewhichcanonlybeconceivedbymeansofthemosthopelessconfusionastotherelationbetweenmatterandmotion;astatewhichcan，besides，onlybeconceivedontheassumptionofanextramundanepersonalGodwhoalonecaninducemotioninthisstateofmatter。Initstreatmentoforganicnature，thephilosophyofrealityfirstrejectedtheDarwinianstruggleforexistenceandnaturalselectionas“apieceofbrutalitydirectedagainsthumanity“

{117}，andthenhadtoreadmitbothbytheback-doorasfactorsoperativeinnature，thoughofsecondrank。Moreover，thephilosophyofrealityfoundoccasiontoexhibit，inthebiologicaldomain，ignorancesuchasnowadays，whenpopularsciencelecturesarenolongertobeescaped，couldhardlybefoundevenamongthedaughtersofthe“educatedclasses“。Inthedomainofmoralityandlaw，thephilosophyofrealitywasnomoresuccessfulinitsvulgarisationofRousseauthanithadbeeninitspreviousshallowversionofHegel;and，sofarasjurisprudenceisconcerned，inspiteofallitsassurancestothecontrary，itlikewisedisplayedalackofknowledgesuchasisrarelyfoundevenamongthemostordinaryjuristsofoldPrussia。

Thephilosophy“whichcannotallowthevalidityofanymerelyapparenthorizon“iscontent，injuridicalmatters，witharealhorizonwhichiscoextensivewiththeterritoryinwhichPrussianlawexercisesjurisdiction。

Wearestillwaitingforthe“earthsandheavensofouterandinnernature“

{D。Ph。430}whichthisphilosophypromisedtorevealtousinitsmightyrevolutionisingsweep;justaswearestillwaitingforthe“finalandultimatetruths“{2}andthe“absolutelyfundamental“{150}basis。Thephilosopherwhosemodeofthought“excludes“anytendencytoa“subjectivelylimitedconceptionoftheworld“{13}provestobesubjectivelylimitednotonlybywhathasbeenshowntobehisextremelydefectiveknowledge，hisnarrowlyconstruedmetaphysicalmodeofthoughtandhisgrotesqueconceit，butevenbyhischildishpersonalcrotchets。Hecannotproducehisphilosophyofrealitywithoutdragginginhisrepugnancetotobacco，catsandJewsasagenerallawvalidforalltherestofhumanity，includingtheJews。

His“reallycriticalstandpoint“{404}inrelationtootherpeopleshowsitselfbyhisinsistentlyimputingtothemthingswhichtheyneversaidandwhichareofHerrDühring’sveryownfabrication。Hisverboselucubrationsaonthemesworthyofphilistines，suchasthevalueoflifeandthebestwaytoenjoylife，arethemselvessosteepedinphilistinismthattheyexplainhisangeratGoethe’sFaust{112-13，423}。ItwasreallyunpardonableofGoethetomaketheunmoralFaustandnottheseriousphilosopherofreality，Wagner，hishero——Inshort，thephilosophyofrealityprovestobeonthewholewhatHegelwouldcall“theweakestresidueoftheGermanwould-beEnlightenment“——aresiduewhosetenuityandtransparentcommonplacecharacteraremademoresubstantialandopaqueonlybythemixinginofcrumbsoforacularrhetoric。Andnowthatwehavefinishedthebookwearejustaswiseaswewereatthestart;andweareforcedtoadmitthatthe“newmodeofthought“{543}，the“fromthegrounduporiginalconclusionsandviews“andthe“system-creatingideas“{525}，thoughtheyhavecertainlyshownusagreatvarietyoforiginalnonsense，havenotprovideduswithasinglelinefromwhichwemighthavebeenabletolearnsomething。Andthismanwhopraiseshistalentsandhiswarestothenoisyaccompanimentofcymbalsandtrumpetsasloudlyasanymarketquack，andbehindwhosegreatwordsthereisnothing，absolutelynothingwhatsoever——thismanhasthetemeritytosayofpeoplelikeFichte，SchellingandHegel，theleastofwhomisagiantcomparedwithhim，thattheyarecharlatans。Charlatan，indeed！Buttowhomhaditbestbeapplied？

1877:Anti-Duhring——“PoliticalEconomy“

PartII:PoliticalEconomyChapter1:SubjectMatterandMethodChapter2:TheoryofForce。

Chapter3:TheoryofForce。(Continuation)

Chapter4:TheoryofForce。(Conclusion)

Chapter5:TheoryofValue。

Chapter6:SimpleandCompoundLabour。

Chapter7:CapitalandSurplus-Value。

Chapter8:CapitalandSurplus-Value。(Conclusion)

Chapter9:NaturalLawsoftheEconomy。RentofLand。

Chapter10:FromKritischeGeschichte。

PartII

POLITICALECONOMYI。

SUBJECTMATTERANDMETHODPoliticaleconomy，inthewidestsense，isthescienceofthelawsgoverningtheproductionandexchangeofthematerialmeansofsubsistenceinhumansociety。Productionandexchangearetwodifferentfunctions。Productionmayoccurwithoutexchange，butexchange——beingnecessarilyanexchangeofproducts——cannotoccurwithoutproduction。

Eachofthesetwosocialfunctionsissubjecttotheactionofexternalinfluenceswhichtoagreatextentarepeculiartoitandforthisreasoneachhas，alsotoagreatextent，itsownspeciallaws。Butontheotherhand，theyconstantlydetermineandinfluenceeachothertosuchanextentthattheymightbetermedtheabscissaandordinateoftheeconomiccurve。

Theconditionsunderwhichmenproduceandexchangevaryfromcountrytocountry，andwithineachcountryagainfromgenerationtogeneration。

Politicaleconomy，therefore，cannotbethesameforallcountriesandforallhistoricalepochs。Atremendousdistanceseparatesthebowandarrow，thestoneknifeandtheactsofexchangeamongsavagesoccurringonlybywayofexception，fromthesteam-engineofathousandhorsepower，themechanicalloom，therailwaysandtheBankofEngland。TheinhabitantsofTierradelFuegohavenotgotsofarasmassproductionandworldtrade，anymorethantheyhaveexperienceofbill-jobbingoraStockExchangecrash。AnyonewhoattemptedtobringthepoliticaleconomyofTierradelFuegounderthesamelawsasareoperativeinpresent-dayEnglandwouldobviouslyproducenothingbutthemostbanalcommonplaces。Politicaleconomyisthereforeessentiallyahistoricalscience。Itdealswithmaterialwhichishistorical，thatis，constantlychanging;itmustfirstinvestigatethespeciallawsofeachindividualstageintheevolutionofproductionandexchange，andonlywhenithascompletedthisinvestigationwillitbeabletoestablishthefewquitegenerallawswhichholdgoodforproductionandexchangeingeneral。Atthesametimeitgoeswithoutsayingthatthelawswhicharevalidfordefinitemodesofproductionandformsofexchangeholdgoodforallhistoricalperiodsinwhichthesemodesofproductionandformsofexchangeprevail。Thus，forexample，theintroductionofmetallicmoneybroughtintooperationaseriesoflawswhichremainvalidforallcountriesandhistoricalepochsinwhichmetallicmoneyisamediumofexchange。

Themodeofproductionandexchangeinadefinitehistoricalsociety，andthehistoricalconditionswhichhavegivenbirthtothissociety，determinethemodeofdistributionofitsproducts。Inthetribalorvillagecommunitywithcommonownershipofland——withwhich，orwiththeeasilyrecognisablesurvivalsofwhich，allcivilisedpeoplesenterhistory——afairlyequaldistributionofproductsisamatterofcourse;whereconsiderableinequalityofdistributionamongthemembersofthecommunitysetsin，thisisanindicationthatthecommunityisalreadybeginningtobreakup——Bothlarge-andsmall-scaleagricultureadmitofverydiverseformsofdistribution，dependinguponthehistoricalconditionsfromwhichtheydeveloped。Butitisobviousthatlarge-scalefarmingalwaysgivesrisetoadistributionwhichisquitedifferentfromthatofsmall-scalefarming;thatlarge-scaleagriculturepresupposesorcreatesaclassantagonism——slave-ownersandslaves，feudallordsandserfs，capitalistsandwage-workers——whilesmall-scaleagriculturedoesnotnecessarilyinvolveclassdifferencesbetweentheindividualsengagedinagriculturalproduction，andthatonthecontrarythemereexistenceofsuchdifferencesindicatestheincipientdissolutionofsmallholdingeconomy——Theintroductionandextensiveuseofmetallicmoneyinacountryinwhichhithertonaturaleconomywasuniversalorpredominantisalwaysassociatedwithamoreorlessrapidrevolutionisationoftheformermodeofdistribution，andthistakesplaceinsuchawaythattheinequalityofdistributionamongtheindividualsandthereforetheoppositionbetweenrichandpoorbecomesmoreandmorepronounced——Thelocalguild-controlledhandicraftproductionoftheMiddleAgesprecludedtheexistenceofbigcapitalistsandlifelongwage-workersjustastheseareinevitablybroughtintoexistencebymodernlarge-scaleindustry，thecreditsystemofthepresentday，andtheformofexchangecorrespondingtothedevelopmentofbothofthem——freecompetition。

Butwiththedifferencesindistribution，classdifferencesemerge。Societydividesintoclasses:theprivilegedandthedispossessed，theexploitersandtheexploited，therulersandtheruled;andthestate，whichthenaturalgroupsofcommunitiesofthesametribehadatfirstarrivedatonlyinordertosafeguardtheircommoninterests(e。g。，irrigationintheEast)andforprotectionagainstexternalenemies，fromthisstageonwardsacquiresjustasmuchthefunctionofmaintainingbyforcetheconditionsofexistenceanddominationoftherulingclassagainstthesubjectclass。

Distribution，however，isnotamerelypassiveresultofproductionandexchange;itinitsturnreactsuponbothofthese。Eachnewmodeofproductionorformofexchangeisatfirstretardednotonlybytheoldformsandthepoliticalinstitutionswhichcorrespondtothem，butalsobytheoldmodeofdistribution;itcansecurethedistributionwhichissuitabletoitonlyinthecourseofalongstruggle。Butthemoremobileagivenmodeofproductionandexchange，themorecapableitisofperfectionanddevelopment，themorerapidlydoesdistributionreachthestageatwhichitoutgrowsitsprogenitor，thehithertoprevailingmodeofproductionandexchange，andcomesintoconflictwithit。Theoldprimitivecommunitieswhichhavealreadybeenmentionedcouldremaininexistenceforthousandsofyears——asinIndiaandamongtheSlavsuptothepresentday——beforeintercoursewiththeoutsideworldgaveriseintheirmidsttotheinequalitiesofpropertyasaresultofwhichtheybegantobreakup。Onthecontrary，moderncapitalistproduction，whichishardlythreehundredyearsoldandhasbecomepredominantonlysincetheintroductionofmodernindustry，thatis，onlyinthelasthundredyears，hasinthisshorttimebroughtaboutantithesesindistribution——concentrationofcapitalinafewhandsontheonesideandconcentrationofthepropertylessmassesinthebigtownsontheother——whichmustofnecessitybringaboutitsdownfall。

Theconnectionbetweendistributionandthematerialconditionsofexistenceofsocietyatanyperiodliessomuchinthenatureofthingsthatitisalwaysreflectedinpopularinstinct。Solongasamodeofproductionstilldescribesanascendingcurveofdevelopment，itisenthusiasticallywelcomedevenbythosewhocomeoffworstfromitscorrespondingmodeofdistribution。ThiswasthecasewiththeEnglishworkersinthebeginningsofmodernindustry。Andevenwhilethismodeofproductionremainsnormalforsociety，thereis，ingeneral，contentmentwiththedistribution，andifobjectionstoitbegintoberaised，thesecomefromwithintherulingclassitself(Saint-Simon，Fourier，Owen)andfindnoresponsewhateveramongtheexploitedmasses。Onlywhenthemodeofproductioninquestionhasalreadydescribedagoodpartofitsdescendingcurve，whenithashalfoutliveditsday，whentheconditionsofitsexistencehavetoalargeextentdisappeared，anditssuccessorisalreadyknockingatthedoor——

itisonlyatthisstagethattheconstantlyincreasinginequalityofdistributionappearsasunjust，itisonlythenthatappealismadefromthefactswhichhavehadtheirdaytoso-calledeternaljustice。Fromascientificstandpoint，thisappealtomoralityandjusticedoesnothelpusaninchfurther;moralindignation，howeverjustifiable，cannotserveeconomicscienceasanargument，butonlyasasymptom。Thetaskofeconomicscienceisrathertoshowthatthesocialabuseswhichhaverecentlybeendevelopingarenecessaryconsequencesoftheexistingmodeofproduction，butatthesametimealsoindicationsofitsapproachingdissolution，-andtorevealwithinthealreadydissolvingeconomicformofmotion，theelementsofthefutureneworganisationofproductionandexchangewhichwillputanendtothoseabuses。Thewrathwhichcreatesthepoet[Juvenalis，Satirae，1，79(sinaturenegat，facitindignatioversum)——Ed。]isabsolutelyinplaceindescribingtheseabuses，andalsoinattackingthoseapostlesofharmonyintheserviceoftherulingclasswhoeitherdenyorpalliatethem;buthowlittleitprovesinanyparticularcaseisevidentfromthefactthatineveryepochofpasthistorytherehasbeennolackofmaterialforsuchwrath。