关键词: 青年恩格斯, 唯物史观, 工人阶级, 经济因素, 社会革命

Abstract: In the development of historical materialism, the young Engels embarked on a way of empirical critique, different from philosophical critique emphasized by the young Marx. His investigation of the life of men in the real world helped establish “the real man” as the historical and theoretical precondition of historical materialism. His research and emphasis on the importance of economic factors contributed to the thought that economic factors play a fundamentally decisive role in the development of the society. His examination of the role of and logical relations between material production and relevant factors, such as productive forces, social relations and modes of production, provided the basic thoughts and general framework for the theory of basic social contradictions. His discussions of the indispensability and feasibility of a social revolution defined the necessity and realistic way of transforming the unreasonable real society. These theoretical contributions laid an important foundation for the final establishment of historical materialism. Underlying the critique of capital by the young Engels was his implicit exploration about the free and full development and liberation of man. And by analyzing the contradictions between the rich and the poor, and between ideals and reality, he presented the theoretical framework, basic features and unique perspectives of historical materialism, and initiated an “alternative way” in exploring the myth of history.

Key words: the young Engels, historical materialism, working class, economic factors, social revolution