ABSTRACT
The nature of Marx's study of Oriental societies is determined by his theoretical approach. According to the dialectic approach which Marx adopts, everything must be explained by its counterpart/opposite. Indeed, when the same sources were used in studies of modern society, Marx used them within a critical perspective. According to the methodology that Marx later referred to as dialectic materialism, in order to explain a social form there is a need for an opposing social form. Marx transforms the partial thoughts about Oriental societies in the sources into a total explanation with his theory of modes of production. The staging of history and classification of societies have a close relationship to the meaning that Marx gave to human nature and the development of humanity. Marx assumes that in the West developing modes of production established dominance over nature and thus contributed to historical progress.
