The German Ideology

Key Concepts and Strategies

In «The German Ideology», Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels outline the main concepts of historical materialism and critique the idealistic philosophy of their contemporaries. The central concept is that the material conditions of a society, such as its economy and productive relations, determine its social structure and development. Marx and Engels argue that people's consciousness and ideas are formed based on their material conditions of existence. They also introduce the concept of «base and superstructure», where the base is the economic structure of society, and the superstructure consists of its political, legal, and ideological institutions. The strategy proposed by the authors involves the necessity of revolutionary transformation of society to change material conditions and, consequently, social relations. They emphasize the importance of the proletariat as a revolutionary force capable of overthrowing the capitalist system and building a communist society free from class contradictions.