Basic category of historical materialism corresponding to “social consciousness”. It refers to the totality of the conditions of the material life of society and summarizes the objective factors and material relations that reflect the history of society, including geographical environment (also known as natural environment), the population factor and the mode of production of material means. The geographical environment and the population factor play an important part in the development of society, but they are not the determining force of social development. The mode of production of material means is the determining factor in social being. It determines the nature of social being. Social being chiefly refers to the mode of production of the material means of society…
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