[578] except in some radical philosophical materialists at the end of the 18th century in France, where ethics^a itself were identified with the fulfillment of the most rudimentary desires and strivings. The third concept of materialism^b is historical materialism, which has nothing to do with these two other meanings. It has nothing to do with the first meaning. In one of the most important early writings called the Theses Against Feuerbach, Karl Marx has expressed his radical and monumental criticism of metaphysical^c materialism^d. And it was only later, through his friend Engels, and through the general development of the second half of the 19th century, that elements of metaphysical materialism came into the movement which called itself ''Marxist.'' In principle these two things have nothing to do with each other. Now what is the meaning of historical materialism? The meaning is that the act of production and reproduction of one's physical existence is the basis from which all other activities must be understood and derived. The way in which the fundamental desires of reproduction of our existence in time and space are satisfied is, at the same time, the way in which all cultural^e creativities ^fare to be interpreted. Special artistic forms are expressions, in this view, of a special society which is either aristocratic or bourgeois or proletarian, and so of course equally the religious ideas and the philosophical ideas. This derivation is the essence of historical materialism^g. Now the demonic trick of propaganda has identified the HISTORICAL materialsim [sic.], which is a method of understanding man's cultural ^ihcreativity^j, with the moral materialism which is a derogatory statement for everybody and by everybody, and with metaphysical^k materialsim^l [sic.] which