The Materialist Conception of History "The methods by which social man satisfies his needs, and to a large extent these needs themselves, are determined by the nature of the implements with which he subjugates nature in one degree or another; in other words, they are determined by the state of his productive forces. Every considerable change in the state of these forces is reflected in man’s social relations, and, therefore, in his economic relations, as part of these social relations. The idealists of all species and varieties held that economic relations were functions of human nature; the dialectical materialists hold that these relations are functions of the social productive forces."
The Economic Doctrines of Karl Marx Despite Lenin’s denunciation of Kautsky this book was considered such an excellent introduction to the subject of Marxist economics that it was still being used as a text-book at the Lenin School in Moscow in 1931.
Engels Letter on U.S. Labor Party This letter from Frederick Engels to Florence Kelly Wischnewetsky shows his perspective for the development of a labour party in the United States and the way that the Marxists should orient to such a party. He warns revolutionaries in the U.S. of the dangers of transforming Marxist ideas into a lifeless dogma by taking a sectarian attitude towards such a massive movement of the working class "not of their creation." Even in this brief letter, there are numerous lessons for Marxists today.
