Dialectical materialism

The philosophical basis of communism is dialectical materialism, an outgrowth of Hegel's dialectic. It uses the concepts of thesis, antithesis and synthesis to explain growth and development, analogizing from nature to human society.

One critique of dialectical materialism is the oft-cited example of a chicken's egg. The embryo (thesis) is oppessed by the shell (antithesis) and must overcome and destroy the shell to reach the next stage of being a chick (synthesis). The error here, according to Dr. Sang Hun Lee, lies in misunderstanding the purpose and role of the eggshell. While the embryo is unformed or weak, the shell remains tough and hard to protect it. When the embroyo has developed into a chick and is ready to enter the world, the shell becomes thin and brittle. If a chick were removed from the shell by an outside force, its ability to survive would be diminished.

This is analogous to parents who restrict their children when they are young and gradually give them more responsibility as they mature. Finally, the children move out on their own and take their place in society is fully-functioning adults. They needn't rebel or murder their parents at all.

See: historical materialism, Marxism

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