>It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. - Marx Historical materialism is **Marx’s theory of history,** stating that **material conditions drive historical change,** not ideas or values. ### Key Premises - The material “base” (economy) determines the “superstructure” (law, politics, culture). - Contradictions between productive forces (technology, raw materials, labor) and the relations of production (class structure) is the driving force of societal development. - History progresses through stages: Primitive Communism → Slavery → Feudalism → Capitalism → Socialism → Communism. ### Etymology Marx borrowed Hegel’s idealist dialectic, but grounded it in material life. For Hegel, history progresses through a conflict and then synthesis of _ideas._ Marx never used “historical materialism” or “dialectical materialism” as formal terms. These labels were coined later—particularly by Friedrich Engels, and later theorists like Karl Kautsky, Lenin, and Stalin.