Economic Praxis Theory undertakes a fundamental ontological reconstruction of the concept of “economy” on the basis of Marx’s practical materialism. It argues that economy is essentially none other than the praxis through which human beings transform the world. Under this framework, the economic base and the superstructure are no longer regarded as physically independent entities within a spatial topography; rather, they are two sides of the same original praxis, co‑emerging in a synchronic dimension. The economic base embodies direct praxis—the material production necessary for subsistence—while the superstructure embodies indirect praxis—the construction of ideational orders and social institutions. Direct praxis, through its existence function, logically and functionally governs the progress function of indirect praxis, for any narrative of progress presupposes the absolute precondition that society first exists.
In the diachronic unfolding of history, the struggle, compromise, and dialectical movement between the economic base and the superstructure drive historical evolution. The “reciprocal action” of the superstructure is by no means a mechanical external force or a purely spiritual causation; it operates through the translation of economic tensions into ideological cognitive schemas and then into institutionalised state policies, which materially reshape the operational boundaries of the economic base. This process constitutes the internal engine of historical progress. The paper not only criticises the dehumanising tendency of mainstream economics—which reduces economy to abstract data and models—but also addresses the theoretical limits of Western Marxism (Williams, Althusser) in overcoming mechanical determinism. It thus provides a more vital, praxis‑based ontological grounding for the classical propositions of historical materialism.
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