On The Contribution Of Engels’ Letters In His Later Years To The Historical Materialism

The historical materialism is an important basis of Marxism. Engels made a significant contribution to the foundation and development of the historical materialism as one of the theory’s founders. Especially after Marx’s death, Engles took the responsibility of studying and spreading the theory by himself. Those works and letters he wrote to guide workers’revolution and refute other wrong thoughts made a profound influence on Marxism.This article chose Engles’letters about the historical materialism in his later times as its study object, firstly discussing about the letters’writing background that was the new characteristics of the Capitalism development, the attack to and distort of the historical materialism made by someone, and the necessity of the theory’s own perfection. Then this article stated the main content of the letters, which contained that Engles accurately expounded the connotation of the historical materialism, highlighting the basic determinant of economic basis, explaining superstructure’s relative independence and reaction to economic basis, putting forward the "theory of willing composition of forces" and several methods of the historical materialism. Last this article discussed the practical significance the principles and methods in Engles’letters could bring to us in refuting the query and challenges of Marxism, impartially assessing contemporary world’s development, strengthening our study of Marxism and relating the theory to our practice to develop theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing economic development as the central task and at the same time fully implement the overall plan for promoting economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress during the course of socialist modernization, improving and enriching socialist democracy, and rising people’s living standards.Another thing worth noticing is that this article also made a comparison between Marx’s idea and Engles’in its discussion, consequently getting a relatively entire and correct comprehension about the letters’contents, as well as profoundly realizing that Engles did succeed to but not deviate from Marx.Learning the historical materialism, we should not only understand its basic principle, but also grasp its basic methods to make it lead our practice, which in turn can enrich and develop the theory, just as Engles used to do.