Motive and Effect

Motive refers to the subjective aspiration in men’s practical activity; effect refers to the objective consequences of men’s practical activity. Motive and effect are dialectically unified. Motive is the guide to action to obtain effects, and effects are the embodiment of the motive in the consequence of action, and are the criterion for testing motives. Men are governed by certain motives in everything they do. If they do not have the correct knowledge and motives that conform to objective realities, they cannot effectively change the objective world; if they have a correct knowledge and motives, but do not try to obtain social effects that conform to such knowledge and motives, they cannot achieve the end of reshaping the world either. The moral value of judging any matter or evaluating acts depends on both motive and effect. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Idealists stress motive and ignore effect, while mechanical materialists stress effect and ignore motive. In contradistinction to both, we dialectical materialists insist on the unity of motive and effect.” Social practice is the criterion for testing subjective aspirations or motives. The process of the unification of motive and effect is the process of unification of subjectivity and objectivity, of knowledge and practice. Since things are complex and constituted by many factors, and because there are often contradictions between subjectivity and objectivity, sometimes good motives do not receive good effects, which requires a a timely summary of experiences and learning lessons.