ABSTRACT
Newton's closed systems of physical determinism served as the nineteenth-century basic prototype of successful scholarship. In the biological and social sciences it was linked with evolutionary theories in which change was explained monistically, by tracing its various aspects to one major factor – a prime mover. Marxian dialectical materialism represented a highly sophisticated form of monistic thought, in which the feedback of the 'resultants' on the 'determinant' was acknowledged and discussed. The theoretical insights and the evidence of contemporary scholarship seem to highlight a contradiction between the dialectical and materialist facets of Marxian philosophy. Through interactionist theories a number of basic principles of nineteenth-century dialectics were accepted and developed into major trends of contemporary thought. The impact of Marx has been fruitful, powerful, and lasting yet it was he who declared himself once 'not a Marxist'. In that spirit any interpretation of Marx in a new century should move towards critical post-Marxism.
