Negation of the negation

According to Marxist dialectics, the law of the negation of the negation deals with the nature of development through a series of contradictions, which appear to annul, or negate a previous fact, theory, or form of existence, only to be later negated in its turn. Motion, change and development thus moves through an uninterrupted series of negations.

However, negation in the dialectical sense does not signify a mere annulment or obliteration whereby the earlier stage is both overcome and preserved at the same time. Negation, in this sense, is both a positive and a negative act.

In Marxist interpretation, negation of the negation is the theoretical side of social change in which the exploitative capitalist system is superseded by a socialist revolution that negates the negation, the very essence of capitalism, namely, exploitation of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie.