Page "Karl Marx" Paragraph 48

Marx's view of history, which came to be called historical materialism ( controversially adapted as the philosophy of dialectical materialism by Engels and Lenin ) certainly shows the influence of Hegel's claim that one should view reality ( and history ) dialectically.

However, Hegel had thought in idealist terms, putting ideas in the forefront, whereas Marx sought to rewrite dialectics in materialist terms, arguing for the primacy of matter over idea.

Where Hegel saw the " spirit " as driving history, Marx saw this as an unnecessary mystification, obscuring the reality of humanity and its physical actions shaping the world.

He wrote that Hegelianism stood the movement of reality on its head, and that one needed to set it upon its feet.