Marxian theory of history

Main article: Marx's theory of history

The Marxist theory of historical materialism theorises that society is
fundamentally determined by the material conditions at any given time in
other words, the relationships which people have with each other in order
to fulfil basic needs such as feeding, clothing and housing themselves and
their families.[31] Overall, Marx and Engels claimed to have identified five
successive stages of the development of these material conditions
in Western Europe.[32] Marxist historiography was once orthodoxy in the
Soviet Union, but since the collapse of communism there in 1991, Mikhail
Krom says it has been reduced to the margins of scholarship. [33]
Stages of history
Marx observed that each stage or epoch created a new class or invention
that would lead to its downfall. However the downfall would not be an
automatically negative event, since with each step humanity at large would
benefit. Each passing stage would therefore raise the standard of living of
the masses while at the same time be doomed to its own downfall because
of internal contradictions and class conflicts.
The first three stages are not given particular attention, since by Marx's
time they had long come to pass. As such, he does not provide the
principles of these stages as he does for capitalism and the stages that
follow. Nonetheless, these epochs have common characteristics.