Materialism, Labor, Theory

In the German Ideology, Marx proposes that the foundational Materialist experience is the Labor that produces the means of subsistence, on the grounds that such a process distinguishes humans from other animals. He thereby contrasts himself from both Feuerbach, whose Theoretical Materialist correlate is Contemplation, and Smith, for whom the Propensity to Barter is the specifically human characteristic. However, since many animals clearly exert themselves in the acquisition of food, the formation of shelter, etc., mere Labor does not suffice as a differentiation from them of the human species. Instead, sharper in that respect, is the use of tools in Labor. But, if so, then Theory precedes Practice, as is illustrated in the temporal relation between the rise of modern Physics and the subsequent industrial Technology of his era. So, his Materialism requires a systematic account of the relation between Theory and Practice, and not merely a devaluation of the former in favor of the latter.