ABSTRACT
Historical materialists focus on social stratifications, ideological formations, conflicts between classes, and structural power dynamics. Karl Marx's principal contribution can be found in the strong connection he made between material economic conditions and all other institutions in society. A significant segment of the historical material tradition is geared toward assessing in intricate detail the creation of surplus values in the actual production process, and its appropriation by capitalists. In the historical materialist tradition, class struggles allude to much more than violent revolutionary activity or worker militancy. Although Marx tends to be most commonly identified as a theorist of class relations and revolutionary struggle, one of his more enduring contributions is to be found in his analysis of alienation in industrial society. The notion of homo faber is vital to any discussion of alienation in historical materialism. Classes give rise to a highly stratified and materially unequal society in which some classes dominate others, and some subvert and resist domination.
