A Modern Interpretation Of Decisiveness And Selectivity Of Historical Development

As far as historical development is concerned, its decisiveness means prerequisiteness and regularity, and its selectivity is that of the historical subject. Former historical determinists tend to put an emphasis on the necessity and objective regularity of historical development, and human beings are considered no more than instruments for the achievement of a certain kind of mysterious aims; the historical non-determinists often deny the necessity and objective regularity of historical development, focusing one-sidedly on the subjective human activity, overstating the effect of subjective will, and the history is seen as subjective construction by human beings or as a collection of disorderly and lifeless historical events. With the first prerequisite of human existence, i.e., the production and reproduction of living material, and human beings in realistic social practice as its starting point, Marxist historical materialism, namely, Marxist historical determinism, acknowledges the necessity and regularity of historical development, affirms the predominative effect of historical law over historical human activity, and at the same time, acknowledges the subjective selectivity in historical development, claims that as historical subject, human beings have the freedom of choice in a certain historical space of possibility. He argues that "history is nothing but the activity of human beings going after their own aims." Decisiveness and selectivity are the two sides of the coin of historical human activity. There is no selectivity without decisiveness, nor decisiveness without selectivity. The historical development is the dialectical unity of decisiveness and selectivity. Marxist historical determinism, with its great capacity and powerful persuasiveness, lives up to its name of "the most useful instrument of analysis" for the perception of present historical situation, and the solution of hot spot problems.