A resounding slap in the face to the established chair philosophy of its time: Published in 1845/46, Marx and Engels combat the world-estrangement of the Young Hegelians in their work, thus creating one of the great works of historical materialism. It must finally be about the practical overthrow of the real social conditions from which these idealistic notions have emerged. The fundamental idea of the text is as simple as it is captivating: It is not consciousness that determines life, but life that determines consciousness. This extremely influential work, of which the central passages are presented in this concise selection, continues to help counteract the escape from reality into the ivory tower.