PUBLISHER’S NOTE 
“Economic Determinism” is one of four phrases 
which are used interchangeably by modem writers in re 
ferring to a sociological law which is the joint discovery 
of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and was first given 
to the world in the year 1848. The other phrases used 
for the same idea are “The Materialistic Conception of 
History,” “Historical Materialism,” and “The Economic 
Interpretation of History.” The classic statement of the 
principle in the words of Frederick Engels is as follows: 
“That in every historical epoch, the prevailing mode 
of economic production and exchange, and the social or 
ganization necessarily following from it, form the basis 
upon which is built up, and from which alone can be ex 
plained, the political and intellectual history of that 
epoch; that consequently the whole history of mankind 
(since the dissolution of primitive tribal society, holding 
land in common ownership) has been a history of class 
struggles, contests between exploiting and exploited, 
ruling and oppressed classes; that the history of these 
class struggles forms a series of evolution in which, now- 
a-days, a stage has been reached where the exploited and 
oppressed class—the proletariat—cannot attain its eman 
cipation from the sway of the exploiting and ruling class 
—the bourgeoisie—without, at the same time, and once 
and for all, emancipating society at large from all ex 
ploitation, oppression, class-distinctions and class strug 
gles.” 
The phrase usually employed by the author of the pres 
ent work is “The Economic Interpretation of History,” 
but as this exact phrase has been used as the title of a 
work by Professor Seligman, we have, with the author’s 
consent, used the shorter title for this book.