It follows that Karl Marx
identified two distinct groups involved in the process of production of means
of subsistence;
those who own the means of production (bourgeoisie) and those who work with the means of production to
produce goods and services or sell their labor to make living (proletariat). He also
insisted that there is a conflict of interests between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
and that social changes occur as a result of antagonism between these two
classes. Therefore, his methodology
clustered around two key concepts; Historical and
Dialectical Materialism. Dialectical Materialism
denotes the idea that everything that is material
changes through struggle between different elements that are in
opposition. Moreover, this conflict of
opposing forces leads to growth, change and development. Since that fulfilling the quest for
sufficiency in material needs is true today as it was in prehistory, Historical Materialism is just the extension of the
principles of Dialectical Materialism by adopting these principles to the analysis
of processes of production throughout history. Historical Materialism also
encompasses an idea of social evolution or the assumption that human history is
driven by a desire to fulfill material needs.
Thus Marx’s methodology and dialectical epistemology is most suited to
investigating concepts that are concrete and encompass the oppositional
elements that underline change.