Key terms
Key concepts
Readings
Activities
Discussion questions/points
Key terms
Objective
Subjective
Freedom
Necessity
Factors
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Key concepts
Freedom does not consist in the dream of independence of natural laws, but in the knowledge of these laws, and in the possibility this gives of systematically making them work towards definite ends.
Revolutionaries can master their tasks and most effectively play their decisive role in history when they understand the laws that govern a process (necessity). The conclusion is that the most revolutionary thing to do today is to make millions clear about the economic transformation of society and their role in fighting for reconstruction.
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Readings
Revolutionaries - "The Role of the Individual" (Institute resource paper #5)
Engels, Frederick, "Letter to Starkenburg, January 25, 1894"
Engels, Frederick, Anti-Duhring, "Morality and Law, Freedom and Necessity."
Kaku, Michio, Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century, chapter 1
Plekhanov, G., "The Role of the Individual in History"
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Activities
Define terms
Compare and contrast the two quotes from Frederick Engels and Margaret Mead
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Discussion questions/points
1. What is Engels' and Hegel's definition of "freedom" (in the sense of the freedom of an individual to get done what he/she is trying to do) and how do you get it?
2. Engels (in Anti-Duhring) says that freedom is also a product of historical development. What did he mean by that, and what are the implications of the electronic revolution for the "freedom" of humanity?
3. The development of the productive forces is the general cause of the historical progress of humanity. What roles do people and, particularly, the conscious individual play? What is the difference between the "factors" theory and Plekhanov's dialectical description of the role of the individual in history?
4. What is a hero, and why was someone like Thomas Paine able to play such a decisive role in history?
5. What does this mean for you and what you do?
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