Prelims 2011 · archive
EasyKarl Marx explained the process of class struggle with the help of which one of the following theories?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Dialectical materialism
Marx's explanation of class struggle rests on the materialist philosophy of Marxism, known as dialectical materialism. Material conditions, i.e. the economy, shape society. Conflict between classes arising from production drives change. Of the four options, only dialectical materialism is the Marxist philosophy behind this account.
- ✓ (d) Dialectical materialism is the philosophical base of Marxism. Marx saw society changing through conflict arising from the economic system, with class struggle as the major driving force of change.
- ✗ (a) Empirical liberalism stresses individual liberty and experience-based knowledge. Marx criticised the liberal capitalist order and did not use this theory to explain class conflict.
- ✗ (b) Existentialism is a philosophy of individual existence and choice, associated with thinkers like Kierkegaard and Sartre. It is not Marx's theory.
- ✗ (c) Darwin's theory is a biological theory of evolution by natural selection. Marx's account of class struggle rests on his materialist analysis of production relations, not on biology.
Remember · Marx: dialectical materialism is the philosophy. Its application to history (historical materialism) sees class struggle as the engine of social change, leading from capitalism to communism.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Understanding Society, Ch 4 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Understanding Society, Chapter 4 “Marx was a proponent of class struggle. He believed that class struggle was the major driving force of change in society.”
- Britannica: Dialectical materialism ↗ · reference work “which is the Marxist interpretation of history in terms of the class struggle.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·