Part I: On the Creature Called Man, Chapter VII: The War of the Gods and Demons Summary and Analysis

The materialist interpretation of history has become fashionable among professors and scholars. According to this theory, all history—and therefore all human action—can be understood purely and simply in terms of economics. It is easy to show that such a theory is heavily flawed. The mere fact that men need food to live is no proof that they live only for food. Further, such a theory cannot possibly explain the actions of those who explicitly reject life—as is the case, tragically, in those who commit suicide and, heroically, in those who give their lives as martyrs.

This interpretation has been given to the Punic War, the...