The critical question shaping in almost all aspects of Marxist theory is how the ways in which people earn their living affect their bodies, minds, and daily lives.

Marx believes that the system of economic production determines the institutional and ideological structure of society. Whoever controls the economic system also controls the political system. Each period of history contains clashing forces, or a dialectic, from which a new order emerges. In ancient times, there were patricians, free people and slaves; in the Middle Ages, there were feudal lords and vassals; and in the capitalist era, there are capitalists and workers. So for Marx, all history, indeed, is the history of class struggle between a ruling group and an opposing one from which a new economic, political, and social system emerges. Currently, capitalism is the main bondage from which people strive to be liberated and this will be occurring through the laws of historical social change.