Part III Theoretical Assumptions Krzysztof Brzechczyn - 9783631813737 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/24/2021 07:28:45PM via free access Krzysztof Brzechczyn - 9783631813737 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/24/2021 07:28:45PM via free access 6 The Basic Ideas of Non-Marxian Historical Materialism 1 Presentation of Basic Ideas 1.1 A Typology of Societies According to non-Marxian historical materialism, class divisions are emerged not only in economy but also in other fundamental domains of the public life: politics and culture.246 These three spheres of public life, or social material momenta: culture, politics, and economy, have parallel internal structures com- prised of material, institutional, and consciousness levels.247 The material level 246 Leszek Nowak, Property and Power. Towards a Non-Marxian Historical Materialism (Dordrecht: Reidel, 1983), pp. 169–186. 247 The present chapter offers a drastically simplified presentation of the core of non- Marxian historical materialism. The selection of some dimensions and motifs of this theory serves the interpretation of the evolution of Central-European socie- ties. For a complete presentation, see: Leszek Nowak. U podstaw teorii socjalizmu, Vol. 1: Własność i Władza. O konieczności socjalizmu; Vol. 2: Droga do socjalizmu. O konieczności socjalizmu w Rosji; Vol. 3: Dynamika władzy. O strukturze i konieczności zaniku socjalizmu (Poznań: Nakom, 1991) and in English: Nowak, Property and Power; Nowak, Power and Civil Society. Extensions and a different application of this theory are included in the following volumes published in Polish: Jerzy Brzeziński and Krzysztof Łastowski, eds., Filozoficzne i metodologiczne podstawy teorii naukowych (Poznań: PWN, 1989); Leszek Nowak and Piotr Przybysz, eds., Marksizm, liberalizm, próby wyjścia (Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 1997); Krzysztof Brzechczyn, ed., Ścieżki transformacji. Ujęcia teoretyczne i opisy empiryczne (Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2003); Krzysztof Brzechczyn, Mieszko Ciesielski and Eliza Karczyńska, eds., Jednostka w układzie społecznym. Próba teoretycznej konceptualizacji (Poznań: Wyd. Naukowe WNS UAM, 2013); and in English: Piotr Buczkowski and Andrzej Klawiter, eds., Theories of Ideology and Ideology of Theories (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1986), Leszek Nowak, ed., Dimensions of the Historical Process (Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA: Rodopi, 1989); Leszek Nowak and Marcin Paprzycki, eds., Social System, Rationality and Revolution (Amsterdam-Atlanta, GA., Rodopi, 1993). On non-Marxian histor- ical materialism, see: Jerzy Topolski, “Refleksje o systemie historiozoficznym nie- Marksowskiego materializmu historycznego,” in: Ścieżki transformacji. Ujęcia teoretyczne i opisy empiryczne, ed. Brzechczyn (Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2003), pp. 279– 294, Waldemar Czajkowski, “Kilka uwag o Leszka Nowaka nie-Marksowskim materializmie historycznym i Andre G. Franka teoriach systemu światowego,” in: Jednostka w układzie społecznym. Próba teoretycznej konceptualizacji, ed. Krzysztof Krzysztof Brzechczyn - 9783631813737 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/24/2021 07:28:45PM via free access 172 The Basic Ideas of Non-Marxian Historical Materialism of political life includes the means of coercion – weaponry, prisons, police bats, etc. The relation to the above means determines a division into two social enti- ties: the class of rulers, which controls the means of coercion, and the remaining civil class. These two great collective entities are organized into institutions, such as political parties, social organizations, associations, etc., that channel social activities performed by various groups of people. The above-listed organiza- tions form an institutional level of politics. Still, a consciousness level of poli- tics includes ideological doctrines and political programs, which motivate the members of this aspect of public life to adopt and accept certain social roles. Economy has an analogical internal structure. Correspondingly to the case of politics, the material level of economy includes the means of production, which determine a division into two classes: owners and direct producers. Trade unions, employers’ organizations, consumer associations, etc. establish the insti- tutional aspect of economy. At the same time, however, the consciousness level of economic life includes doctrines and economic viewpoints that provide a jus- tification for significant actions undertaken by social groups within the domain of public life. In a corresponding manner, the cultural domain comprises three above- mentioned levels: material, institutional, and consciousness-related. The means of spiritual production – printing press, radio, television, etc. – constitute the material level. The relation of to them determines a division into two social classes: priests (secular and religious who decide on the purpose of the means of spiritual production and believers who do not have such possibilities. The institutional level of spiritual life comprises organized castes of priests: churches, universities, writers’ associations, creative organizations, etc. The aspects of the diffused world-view doctrines, which provide a justification of actions, under- taken by particular castes of priests forms a meta-consciousness level of spiritual life. Following from this, a given worldview is scientific, since it includes only the true interpretation of the revelation provided by God; it is “civilized,” in contrast to the opposed “barbaric” standpoints. For this reason, the above-mentioned division of public life brings about a distinction between three separate types of class divides. In the domain of poli- tics, the class of rulers, having the means of coercion at its disposal, enlarges the global sphere of influence, thereby restricting the autonomy of citizens. In the economical sphere, the class of owners, having the means of production at its Brzechczyn, Mieszko Ciesielski and Eliza Karczyńska (Poznań: Wyd. Naukowe WNS UAM, 2013), pp. 187–206. Krzysztof Brzechczyn - 9783631813737 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/24/2021 07:28:45PM via free access Presentation of Basic Ideas 173 disposal, is able to maximize the surplus product to maximum, at the expense of producers’ direct profit. In the cultural domain, the castes of priests, which monopolize the control over the mass media, increase spiritual indoctrination, thereby reducing the autonomy of the believers. Social antagonisms – which result from the unequal access to the material means of coercion, production, and indoctrination in each of the three spheres of public life – have an autono- mous character. Social divisions present within other aspects of public life may only weaken or reinforce these antagonisms. Moreover, class divisions may accu- mulate. A given social class, in order to increase its social power, may acquire control over the means of coercion and production, or the means of coercion and spiritual indoctrination, etc. For non-Marxian historical materialism, social divisions are founded on ac- cess to material social means. Based on this criterion, it distinguishes between class societies with individual classes and supra-class societies with overlapping classes. There are several types of class societies distinguished with respect to which of the social classes prevails – rulers, owners, or priests. The dominance of one class over another means that, for instance, the social interest of class A dominates over the social interest of class B and when a conflict of interests occurs, the interest of class A is to maximize in a long-term. A principal social class dominates over the remaining classes in the following way: providing a conflict of interests occurs, the social interest of a principal class is to maximize in a long-term.248 Within supra-class societies, one could distinguish totalitarian societies with a double class of rulers-owners and fascist societies with the double class of rulers- priests. Each of the above-described types of societies may exist in a number of variants distinguished with respect to a domineering type of class interest and an instrumental type of class interest. For example, in a P-totalitarian society, rulers-owners maximize political control and subjugate a maximization of profit to reinforcing power. In an E-totalitarian society, an increase of political control is subordinated to the maximization of profit. One may also distinguish a balanced 248 This is a modification of a definition put forward by Nowak, see: Nowak, U podstaw teorii socjalizmu, Vol. 1, p. 176. One may also paraphrase the definition of estate society in terms of n-Mhm. It is a class society with individual classes of rulers, owners and priests. A class of owners is divided into two layers: a sub-class of owners of means of production of the old sphere and a sub-class of owners of means of production of the new sphere. Such society is a balanced society with each class controlling material social means – rulers, priests, and owners of means of production in both spheres – may implement their class interests evenly. Krzysztof Brzechczyn - 9783631813737 Downloaded from PubFactory at 09/24/2021 07:28:45PM via free access 174 The Basic Ideas of Non-Marxian Historical Materialism variant of the above-mentioned type of society, where both social interests – an increase of political control and an increase of profit – are implemented evenly. Finally, there is a socialist society with a social class in control of the means of coercion, production and indoctrination. There is a number of variants of this type of society depending on