An editor's note reveals that it is not known when Fenichel wrote this paper nor if he ever submitted it for publication. Its present form is based on a translation by Olga Barsis, Hanns Sach's sister, and was edited by Suzette H. Annin and Dr. Hanna Fenichel.

Psychoanalysis is consistent with dialectical-materialism in that it studies the interaction of biological man with the environment on an empirical basis avoiding value judgment; spiritual and mystical beliefs are conceived as derivatives of the man-environment interaction rather than as prime phenomena. Knowledge of the human mental apparatus is of special importance to Marxists in their attempt to bring about social change; rejection of psychoanalytic knowledge, based on spurious understanding, constitutes a serious handicap to their cause.