Lecture in Oslo, January 30, 1934: Marxism is based on Materialism

Lecture in NS' Student Group in Oslo, January 30, 1934.

By Dr. Gulbrand Lunde.

The crisis that the world is currently experiencing, which also severely impacts our people, is primarily an economic crisis. The significant technological advancements have created unlimited production possibilities of such dimensions that they cannot be fully exploited. Otherwise, we would end up with an abundance of products.

However, even the existing production possibilities are not fully utilized to meet the real need. This limitation arises because the distribution of products can only occur in a way that aligns with the economic interests closely tied to production.

The system is failing, and the Marxist parties are correct in asserting that it is the capitalist system that has now failed. While unrestricted economic freedom was necessary for the fruitful development of technology, it remains suitable only as long as there are unrestricted needs to fulfill and ample possibilities to make capital productive. However, when production consistently exceeds the need, the unrestricted freedom of capital clashes with societal interests. Consequently, we observe state interventions to regulate the uncontrolled activities of capital in various countries, including Italy, Germany, England, and America.

However, I will not go into these questions in more detail here. But there is another thing that is interesting to note in this connection: the greater the possibilities of production have become, the greater the abundance of material goods, the more bitter and more vicious the struggle has become for these goods. The trade unions' work to improve the workers' living conditions was completely justified, and there is no doubt that this work has greatly improved the workers' standard of living, which today is far above that of the employers in the last century. Nevertheless, the struggle for material goods has never been more bitter than now. One has the impression that these material goods have so far not brought any blessing, that, on the contrary, they have increased people's material needs, and set their sights on creating greater material well-being, while their understanding of the spiritual values in life has almost disappeared.

One gets an unsettling feeling that the tearing development of technology has gone to people's heads to such an extent that they imagine that it is their own skill and superiority that has created all these values. In reality, the prerequisites existed for creating these values, which are only a fruit of our understanding of the laws of nature, and man does not have themselves gained the ability to explore the laws of nature and make use of them. Man has become self-righteous to the extent that he has elevated himself to a kind of god.

From this point of view we must understand materialism. It is also understandable that Marxism must build on this materialism. After all, Marxism is only a system that seeks a solution to the social order in the economic, in the material sense. Marxism is based on historical materialism, i.e. the materialistic or economic conception of history. History becomes a natural phenomenon, which can be understood solely from the development of human needs.

«Die Menschen gehen zur Erhaltung ihrer Existenz von ihrem Willen unabhängige Produktionsverhältnisse ein», says Marx. History is the result of economic development, which is determined by the antagonism between the exploiting and the exploited class.

The whole fault lies in the fact that man cannot unfold in the material social plane. Man is above all a spirit cell, and man's liberation and release cannot be achieved in materialism, where "spiritual values do not become independent and acquire their own value.

Pastor Odd Godal says this quite aptly:

"In Marxism, man is led into an active social relationship of enormous dimensions, everything is explained on the basis of it, and with a fanatical intensity. It requires a person entirely. It crushes all romanticism far removed from reality and throws the day's tasks onto one. But this relationship does not provide enough sustenance for man to live in it. Man's own being is not exhausted by it, nor does it reach its redemption, its freedom. The consequence is that one constantly leaps beyond the plan one theoretically commits to. And Marx's words: "Der Mensch eeheint ein Geheim-nis für den Menschen, man weiss ihn nur zu tadeln und man kennt ihn nicht", remain.

The social relationship provides enough space for man as a neutral individual, but not for man as a closed entity, which encloses everything within itself, gives it a name, evaluates. This that man is more than an individual, even if he is a total social individual, this more which is basically not just a plus to the man Marx makes room for, but which is the very overall determination of man, it does not find its release. The question is whether Marx, by turning every question about man into a social question of an economic and political nature, does not solve man's problem by fleeing from it.

We thus see that Marxism, in reality, goes beyond the materialistic plane. However, this does not prevent the materialistic view of life from being promoted in every possible way. For the individual, this materialistic view of life becomes a glorification of material goods. They perceive the purpose of life as achieving the greatest possible material well-being and satisfying sensory demands. Meanwhile, all spiritual values are reduced to nothing. Anything that could lead people away from materialism is opposed, with religion being the primary target. According to Marx’s teachings, religion is merely an “überbau” (superstructure) that obstructs understanding of economic and social conditions.

The increased opportunities to acquire material goods have indeed distanced people from spiritual values. In reality, this materialistic attitude leads individuals away from their own essence, from the profound meaning of human existence. As our understanding of nature deepens and we uncover the intricate processes within living organisms, there arises a strong inclination to comprehend and explain the entirety of human beings based on physical and chemical processes within the organism. Each new discovery in physiological chemistry promises a final explanation for everything. We recognize that all bodily functions are regulated by specific substances—hormones—produced in the endocrine glands. Man is reduced to a glandular individual, a mere piece of matter whose destiny is predetermined by factors like heredity and constitution. It is these hormones that compel our actions. But what purpose does it serve to resist the laws of nature? All responsibility seems to vanish, and our actions are unbridled.

It is one of our most important tasks to work for a new spirit in the Norwegian people.

"We must build on the culture-bearing and creative ideas of our Nordic people - honor, freedom and duty - and on a spiritual, national and social outlook on life with an understanding of each individual's value and opportunities within the framework of society. We must rediscover the roots of our power and give them new life. The spirit of the people must be raised and purified.” (Quisling.)

The Norwegian folk spirit, yes, the one that has no real existence according to the materialist conception of history.

We will see if it is gone, the strong spirit of fathers today!

Shouldn't that be a reality in the Norwegian folk spirit, the one that lives and develops in every Norwegian today? But it must be raised and cleaned. Our national feeling must become one with our work to raise the Norwegian folk spirit. We must become a part of it. Only then will we help build our country. We must purge all materialism and self-interest, and we must purge all half-heartedness. There is a bit of a Peer Gynt in each of us:

"I can bypass this in a way, so there will be neither profit nor loss. You can shoot something like that away and forget about it."

Nor will we win if we do not crack down on the division, discord and self-interest in us. It is almost symbolic when it is the cross brother in "Kongsemnerne" who says:

The Norwegian men go to their work - unwillingly, wandering, they don't know where, their hearts shrink, their minds hide, they waver, like swaying willows before the winds, they can only agree on one thing in the world, that every greatness must be overthrown and are stoned, hoisted as a mark of wretchedness, they put honor in flight and fall, then it is bishop Nikolas who is out, the Bagler bishop who smokes his calling!

It is as if Ibsen were to stand vividly among us today and pronounce his judgment on the bourgeois. The bourgeois were meant to form a reaction against the materialistic outlook on life, against spiritual and moral decay, and against discord and hatred.

But what do we see? They don’t lift so much as a little finger to halt the decline. The breakdown and decay have become so significant that they no longer notice the direction of development. We have become spiritually dulled, unable to discern the difference between good and evil. Discouragement, doubt, slippage, disintegration, and decay now characterize bourgeois society.

It is the reaction against all this that finds expression in NS today. It embodies faith, hope, will, and love for the Norwegian people. NS primarily represents a spiritual revival—a people’s uprising. The old Norwegian folk spirit awakens within NS. We must rediscover the ethical and moral values deeply rooted in the Norwegian people. Where have the old Norwegian qualities gone: Honor, freedom, duty, fidelity, and responsibility?

It is required of you to live your life in accordance with NS’s ideals, to dedicate your life to our cause. You must be willing to sacrifice something, even everything, if necessary, for our cause. Unshakable faith in the progress of our mission and trust in our leader, Vidkun Quisling, are essential. No one should be able to undermine our faith in Norway’s future. May God preserve the Norwegian people!

Translated by LucciNation.