ABSTRACT
Marx’s vision of the historical motion, or historical dynamics, of capitalism was the result of the confluence of three influences: firstly, his critical study of Hegel’s dialectical philosophy of history; secondly, his own empirical observations of the temporal instability of capitalist economic activity in the context of rapid secular technological achievement and change; and thirdly, the analytical treatment of the dynamics of the system that he studied in the writings of political economy. These three influences came together for the first time in the Grundrisse manuscript when Marx investigated the dialectics of capitalist progress induced by the working out of contradictions. This endeavour was directed towards the ultimate rationale of his critique of political economy in that its objective was to further his comprehension of the human situation under the operations of a mode of production dominated by capital. His premises were that, based on observation and intuition, conditions for the vast majority of people could only be bad under this regime and could also be shown to be destined inevitably to get worse. By exposing the sources of this fate in the immanent dynamic structure and operation of capitalism, Marx’s idea was to reveal the revolutionary path that could lead to the establishment of a truly human socio-economic environment. And, he believed, it would be followed by the proletariat once they became self-consciously aware of the reasons for their predicament.
