Marxism—The rationalist political and economic doctrine of the nineteenth century German social revolutionary Karl Marx (1818-1883). Marx is considered to be a materialist, but his materialism is special. He believed the material (especially economic) facts of a society determine its mental aspects: social laws, religion, culture and other patterns of thought. In short, Marx believed the material determines the mental. But materialism is actually the belief that the material is the mental. Marx was much influenced by the idealist Hegel, whose philosophy of history predicted the progressive development of human consciousness towards knowledge of the absolute. Marx translated that notion of progress into economic terms. But the historical end he foresaw for humanity perpetual communisms idealistic, not materialistic. According to materialism, nothing is perpetual except primordial matter. Phenomena are ever-changing. Hence, no social system can be permanent. Theorist of economy that he was, Marx was not able to provide for his wife and children. He and his family were supported by his fellow revolutionary Friedrich Engels, a rich man's son. See Humanism, Idealism, Materialism, Rationalism.