theory

The Worldview and Philosophical Methodology of Marxism-Leninism

This took me a long time to finish, but that's mostly due to starting and stopping for a period of time, but I'm so glad I did stick with it.

At first, the density within the annotations was almost comical. Having finished the book now, those annotations were invaluable. The concepts within feel almost simple upon reflection, but the complexity is within the way each of these concepts are interlinked.

The material world is the base of consciousness, and consciousness can impact and change the material world, which in turn changes our state of consciousness. This motion of practical activity within the world creates quantitative changes in our consciousness that eventually become qualitative changes in consciousness. Relative Truth becomes aligned closer to Absolute Truth the more we perform this practical activity within the world. This process allows us to theorize about reality, test those theories, revise them, and test again. This process is Practice\Praxis.

Understanding, too, that this method of analysis can be applied to many different systems both small and large really shaped my thinking. As I worked through this book, I could see how I could apply this framework in my own personal and work life.

On my own personal reflection, looking back at the last couple of years through this lens, I can see the quantitative changes that lead to the qualitative changes within my own thinking. How the events of 2020 pushed me in a direction that lead me here (both personal events and political events), writing this post, consuming books at a rate that I never have previously in my life. It hasn't just changed my understanding and knowledge, it has also changed my level of interest. I find myself excited at the prospects of reading and learning. Something I would say wasn't true only a few years ago. Every book I finish, only makes the next book less daunting, and so here too I can see the qualitative changes as well.

The final chapter and the afterward really impresses on you the need for action within the world. This is a lesson, even before I reached the end of the book, that I began to understand. Finding an organization to donate some of my free time too is on my list of things to do for the future. When I'll be able to do that, is unclear, since being a parent is a full-time job as it is. Even still, I have thoughts on how I might implement small amounts of Praxis as a result of this reading. I used Logseq to organize flashcards based on the glossary at the back of the book to aid in reading / studying this book, helping keep concepts fresh in my mind. I might find a way to publish that work online for everyone to consume.

In closing, I think this book does a great job consolidating all the different writings that make up the whole of Dialectical Materialism and synthesizing those concepts into a digestible and cohesive work. What more could I expect from a college level text book? Thanks to Luna Oi for her work in translating this text, and I look forward to the future release on Historical Materialism.