Der ökonomische Determinismus – neu betrachtet

Abstract

This article revisits the claim that the social relations of production determine, at least in the last instance, the overall nature and dynamic of social formations. The claim in its original form is often misunderstood, its later justifications are generally weak, and efforts to improve it are mostly unconvincing. An alternative interpretation is presented that identifies four complementary meanings of economic determinism that are all consistent with historical materialism. The fourth meaning draws on the relatively new concept of ‘ecological dominance’ but it was anticipated, the author argues, in certain arguments of Marx and Engels themselves.