Marx je jos polovinom osamnajstog stoljeca smjestio tu svijest u znanstvenu kategoriju drustveno ekonomskih zakonitosti, na kojima se zasnovao cjelokupni civilizacijski razvoj od prahistorije do nasih dana: In the social production of their life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independant of their will, relations of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material productive forces.The sum total of these relations constitute the economic structur of society, the real fundation, on which rise a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness.