Karl Marx
Thesis: this dossier situates theory within institutions, struggles, and concrete historical development.
Established HistoryKarl Marx (1818-1883) was a German philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary theorist who developed historical materialism and a critique of capitalist social relations. Across his writings, he argued that human consciousness is shaped through labor, class conflict, and historically specific modes of production.
Materialist psychology treats Marx as foundational because his method relocates subjectivity inside social life rather than outside it. Categories such as alienation, ideology, and social being provide a basis for explaining emotion, identity, and development as historically produced rather than timeless traits.