The Principal Contradiction

by Torkil Lauesen

In The Principal Contradiction, Torkil Lauesen introduces readers to the philosophy of dialectical materialism as a tool for changing the world.

Dialectical materialism allows us to understand the dynamics of world history, the concept of contradiction building a bridge between theory and practice, with the principal contradiction telling us where to start.

Lauesen explores the historical origins of dialectical materialism, focusing at first on the European context in which Hegel was famously turned on his head, then introducing the subsequent contributions made by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Mao. Drawing on his own decades of experience as an anti-imperialist, Lauesen shows how dialectical materialism can be employed as a method to understand the past five hundred years of capitalist history, how contradictions internal to European capitalism led to colonialism and genocide in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as all humanity was brought into a single exploitative world system. The globalized capitalist system has developed through successive and changing principal contradictions, decisively impacting regional, national, and local contradictions. This has in turn given rise to new reactions, interacting with and modifying the principal contradiction.

Identifying the principal contradiction is indispensable for developing a global perspective on capitalism. This methodology is not just a valuable tool with which to analyze complex it also tells us how to intervene.

Genres: Philosophy, Politics, Theory, Nonfiction, History

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2020

Reviews

[Hen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this in less than a day!! what a great resource for anyone hoping to develop a better understanding of dialectical materialism and its application. This really helped me and gave me the confidence to give On Contradiction another go.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I say this a lot but — urgent and necessary if we’re serious about winning.

[Bablu · Rating 5 out of 5]

very sweeping but at least the theoretical toolkit is presented in the book and put to use in a way that seems mostly consistent. what's good is he for the most part omits discussing stuff he doesn't know super well. is a good contrast to 7 cheap things in terms of accessible introductions to the business of 'changing the world for the better'

[Kit]

Lucid; challenges us to become better dialectical materialists. We are in for a dramatic century... Torkil makes the prediction that capitalism will not survive this century, yet there is no guarantee that what comes next is better. That is up to us.

[Mtume Gant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This now goes in my shelf as a must reference. What is done here is give a great example of dialectical materialism from a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist understanding and then puts it in practice via Historical Materialism. Lausen’s analysis is clear, cogent and specific, but he makes a real effort to be understandable so we can take his explanation and methodological example and apply it to our own context. It’s really one of the best pieces on the subject and if you want to get a start on dialectical materialism I can’t think of a better place to start.

[Pfairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very approachable book on dialectical materialism. Lauesen takes the reader through the dialectical method and shows them how to identify the principal contradiction, why it is important to understand said contradiction, and what to do afterwards to work towards building a movement to finally advance beyond the contradictions of our era.

[holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a really good job of making Mao's theories about contradiction concrete. Lots of useful examples form across a huge time period. Gave it 4 stars as it's just not as good as his latest book, and the analysis of China is less sophisticated than his more recent work. Vital reading for anyone with even a vague interest in using dialectical materialism to change the world for the better

[St_Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to give this a shot because I usually prefer to read about history and economics through a Marxist lens, but haven't read much on Marxist philosophy. This book is relatively short and seemed like it would be a good intro. Here's what it contains:

Part 1: The Roots of Dialectical Materialism
- Gives an overview of how DM developed through history, the relationship with liberalism, and Mao's contributions to DM

Part 2: The World According to DM
- Talks about different concepts through the lens of DM, such as knowledge, war, and most importantly, the concept of principal contradiction and particular contradictions, both of which can change through time and place

Part 3: The Principal Contradiction in the World
- A sweeping summary of world history, identifying and highlighting different contradictions that have influenced key developments

Part 4: Strategy
- Short chapter talking about the importance of putting theory into practice, and how the author did this in his own organising. In his Danish communist group, they prioritised sending funds to anti-imperialist movements upon observing that there was very little revolutionary potential in Denmark at the time.

In one sense, this book was a bit of a let-down, as I'd say at most half of it is on philosophy, then the second half is modern history through a Maoist lens. I would have liked to see a bit more about the philosophy of DM, particularly how it has been criticised and defended throughout history. I don't know enough about the topics covered to judge whether the author analyses them "correctly," so I'll instead try to say to list a few more characteristics of this book, and potential readers can decide for themselves whether they want to check this out.

- Written from a Maoist lens
- Short and uses fairly accessible language.
- Covers a lot of world history pretty quickly, so I'd recommend you read other leftist history books first to get more context.
- Doesn't really address debates within Marxism or counter-arguments to its theses. In other words, the contents are presented as uncontroversial facts, when in reality different tendencies within Marxism have very different interpretations of key events (such as "was the USSR socialist?")
- Emphasises the revolutionary potential of anti-imperialist struggle in the Global South

Overall, I'd say I enjoyed the book and may come back to it from time to time to see how well its lessons hold up as I learn more from other sources.

[Jody Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two sections are a pretty decent intro to dialectical materialism and contradiction, and of course the topic of the book, the principal contradiction. The third and fourth are the most interesting parts though. I don't agree with all of the conclusions, but I think his arguments for the principal contradictions of certain times are quite convincing. The contradiction between capital and the state does seem to be central recently as we move towards (or are already at?) the principal contradiction being between US hegemony and the motley anti-US alliance. The concept of capital vs ecology potentially becoming principal is quite interesting as well. I'm still quite unconvinced that all or most workers in the global north have no revolutionary potential, but that is a debate I'm just starting to study. Overall definitely a worthwhile read.

[Babasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very very very good summary of dialectical materialism, probably took me over the hill in being able to say I have a grasp on the concept. The section in which the author gives a historical overview was useful in its intended purpose as giving an example of dialectical materialism in use, realisitically it could not be as thorough as other works. The concluding section identifying future principal contradictions was also great, but slightly terrifying in regards to the realities of climate change and capitalism, and as to the fact that neoliberalism's greatest political challenge is currently coming from the right-wing. V good.

[Jess]

I didn't read this cover to cover because tbh I found the analysis weird and confusing, like walking into the middle of someone having an argument with the shadow of people he's argued with before. But! I did appreciate how clearly he identified the 4 points of the dialectical process. That gave me enough grounding to have a follow up conversation with someone who's well versed in Marxist theory and current discussions (as a comprehension check for myself). I still need to work on my understanding of contradictions but at least I'm now headed in the right direction.

[Jens Hylander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy-to-access, if somewhat sweeping, book with a dialectical materialist interpretation of world history. I enjoyed the conceptualization of the principal contradiction, although at times it felt like the analysis became focused more on overt political conflicts rather than the dialectical development of the *principal* contradiction. Still, the book is a nice way to enter dialectical materialism.

[Sergej Bozinovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fresh view on dialectical materialism in the 21st century. That book talks about everything that's wrong with the world (and how we got there) and yet I feel optimistic after having finished it.

As an introduction to the concept of DM I think it's not difficult to follow. I found particularly engaging the real world examples of the practice of the analyses (both from world leaders and from the author themselves).

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant exposition of the method of dialectical materialism.

[Zoe Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would highly reccommend this!!

[Landon Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply okay. Great political theory clearly and unfortunately written by a former danish 60s radical. challenging and intelligent.

[Comrade Zupa Ogórkowa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always great to have modern and accessible books about core Marxist concepts.

[Ajay S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic modern outline of dialectical materialism, from its fundamental methods to actual praxis.

[Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rly good application of dialectics, I especially loved part III, the principal contradiction in the world and Part IV on strategy

[J. Moufawad-Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review is here:

https://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/revi...