Marxism holds that social existence determines people's consciousness, and the mode of production of material life restricts the process of social life, political life and spiritual life. According to this basic principle, Marx and Engels believe that education, as a complex social phenomenon, is produced with the emergence of society and is determined by the material living conditions and social relations of society; When society develops into a class society, education has a class nature and represents the interests of the ruling class. Marx and Engels exposed the class characteristics of capitalist education with eloquent facts.

Education is an eternal historical category, which has certain class attributes in class society. This is the first scientific exposition of the essence of education in the history of education, which clarifies an objective law that is independent of human will and provides a scientific basis for correctly understanding the role of education.