ABSTRACT
Nineteenth century German radicals praised Friedrich Hegel for recognizing that cultures and nations are constantly evolving and striving to perfect themselves. Since this is true, radical logic continued, existing social institutions are works in progress, never perfect, and always in need of improvement. Theories that parallel Marx's dialectical materialism have a long and independent history within the social sciences. American ethnographer Lewis Henry Morgan, for example, exerted a strong influence upon Marx, Soviet anthropology, and upon American anthropology. The basic flow of thought from Karl Marx, to Lewis Henry Morgan, to modern cultural materialistic anthropology provides relevant tools for examining the impact of economic and technological patterns upon the culture, the social system, and the ideology. Marxist thinking provides practical research designs that business anthropologists can employ when analyzing trends as well as how particular people respond in the marketplace, on the production floor, and in every walk of life.
