ABSTRACT
Lutfi al-Khuli believes in historical determinism: the course of history is preordained and unalterable by human endeavour, and every substantial historical change is necessarily predicated on antecedent socio-economic processes. In addressing the history of social development, al-Khuli proceeds deductively, first analysing universal trends and inferring from them specific conclusions about the development of Egyptian society and the Arab nation. Methodologically, al-Khuli adopted Marx's doctrine of historical materialism. This holds that the face of society, and particularly the dynamics of historical development, are determined by the nature of the relations between the forces of production and production relations; the former is the stronger element of the two and is the propellant of history. Usually, the production relations adapt themselves to the forces of production, enabling gradual technological development without interference.
