How do you apply DiaMat in your daily life?
How do you apply DiaMat in your daily life?
Hi comrades, how do you go about applying Dialectical Materialism in your daily life? What tasks have you successfully solved using it?
I'm trying to get a deeper understanding of it right now by reading literature on it, right now I'm at Anti-Duhring (excerpts of it). I find it sometimes hard to apply what I've learned in personal cases, such as a discussion with someone, and so on.
well given the relationship between base and superstructure, it's less something people apply daily to their lives, and more it is something that is applied daily, by society's base, to society's superstructure, and vice-versa, regardless of whether people are aware of it. I don't think it necessarily makes sense for an individual apply it to daily life, but I welcome corrections if I'm wrong about that.
Yep, but the elements in the superstructure can have contradictions inherent in them, right? In any case, I heard of people applying it in their daily lives and so on, so I was curious
It's a good question. I don't have an answer. I would need to think about it for longer
a very brief summary of dialectical materialism in the broadest sense might be "all things change and all things are related", which I'd assume most people understand to some extent and apply in mundane situations without thinking about it
e.g. by understanding the dialectical relationship between you (and your coworkers) and the capitalists you work for, you realize that you should do the bare minimum (unless there are other relationships to consider, e.g. if you're a hospital worker)
To be vague, I use Dialectal Materialism daily in work in small ways. I know that certain days of work will be busier because of material conditions, whether that be a football game that is happening or heavy rainfall. That affects how busy I will be and I take it into consideration. I also take time with people when talking politics because I know that there is no Yes/No switch in people’s minds. I span Political conversations over time and sense the right time to bring it up. One conversation won’t change a liberal to a principled Marxist, and that’s because learning is a fundamental part of Marxism, critique and self-criticism along with research.
Thinking about things in terms of contradictions is useful. I use it daily when problem solving at my job, or just thinking about stuff I observe during my day. Helps prevent binary black/white thinking. For example, why are certain people acting this way? What contradictions are governing their life? Utilizing the base and superstructure model some1 else posted helps with this.
I have found it really useful for helping resolve interpersonal conflict, such as with partners or friends or so on. Also I think it would be useful to help with internal conflicts as well. Dialectical behavioural therapy is a type of psychotherapy for example that is supposedly very effective for personality vulnerabilities, although this might not be materialist specifically. I'm not knowledgeable on the topic but it's quite interesting.