Marxism is a science with its own terminology, and therefore makes heavy demands upon the beginner. Whatever the initial difficulty, a certain perseverance will pay just rewards. The newer reader should not be put off by the sometimes difficult and abstract ideas expressed in these writings. Even in their rough, unfinished form these notes give a brilliant insight into the method of Marxism and its relation to the sciences. These were later published as the Dialectics of Nature. On his death, Engels left a pile of manuscripts, which he intended to work up into an account of dialectics, or the laws of motion of nature, human society and human thought. Unfortunately Marx and Engels never wrote a comprehensive work on dialectical materialism, although they intended to do so. While this is a good start to the subject, there is no substitute for proceeding from there to tackle the philosophical works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Plekhanov and others. In beginning this study of Dialectical Materialism the editors are publishing an introductory article by Rob Sewell. The guides are suitable for individual study or as the basis of a Marxist discussion group. The other "component parts", as well as other fundamental questions, will be dealt with in future issues. In the first of these Education for Socialists study guides, we provide a selection of material on Dialectical Materialism. They are intended to assist the student of Marxism by providing an introduction to the subject matter, with suitable Marxist texts that we hope will whet their appetite for further reading and study. The Education for Socialists series was launched to promote the study of Marxism. These are the famous "Three component parts of Marxism" of which Lenin wrote. The study of Marxism falls under three main headings, corresponding broadly to philosophy, social history and economics - Dialectical Materialism, Historical Materialism and Marxist Economics. In their totality, these ideas provide a fully worked-out theoretical basis for the struggle of the working class to attain a higher form of human society - socialism. Marxism, or Scientific Socialism, is the name given to the body of ideas first worked out by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). We are starting with dialectical materialism, the philosophy of Marxism. The purpose is to provide a basic explanation of the fundamental ideas of Marxism with a guide to further reading and points to help organise discussion groups around these ideas. We are publishing the first of what will be a series of Marxist study guides.
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