Historical materialism

Marxist theory of history and society

Historical materialism is a theory of history and sociology in Marxist thought that posits that material and economic conditions are the primary drivers of societal structure and historical change. First articulated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the mid-19th century, the theory proposes that the mode of production of material life—the way a society produces and reproduces the means of human existence—determines or conditions its political, legal, and ideological "superstructure". Historical development is understood as a succession of modes of production, with transitions between them driven by contradictions that arise between the developing forces of production (technology, labour power) and the static relations of production (class structure, property ownership).

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