Neo-Marxian theory differs with traditional Marxian theory primarily in its rejection of both economic determinism and the view that individuals play no role in shaping society. In fact, however, as Ritzer writes, Marx himself was not an economic determinist, although he certainly emphasized economics as the primary force at work in society:
Marx often sounded like an economic determinist; that is, he seemed to consider the economic system of paramount importance and to argue that it determined all other sectors of society--politics, religion, idea systems, and so forth. Although Marx did see the economic sector as preeminent, at least in capitalist society, as a dialectician he could not have taken a deterministic position, because the dialectic is characterized by the notion that there is continual feedback and mutual interaction among the various sectors of society.
While it is clear that individual actions, in Marx's view, were not the primary factor in shaping society, he did give the individual an important role, but essentially during the period leading to revolution. Historical materialism tries to explain the development of capitalism and imperialism in the world, with Marx arguing that the development of the socioeconomic system of capitalism has been a material development, just as the development of human beings has been a material evolution. People have not made choices which brought about capitalism: Marx argued that the analysis of society must start from "the structure of social relations, not from individual choices or motivations."
Marx believed that each stage of evolution was marked by a mode of production and a division between the powerful class and the class with less or no power. The change in the mode of production and the conflicts between the classes were set not by human choice but by the forces of history which swept society along toward capitalistic development.
Baran in Brewer points...