The ancient world was dominated by Fatum, Heimarmene, inescapable mysterious fate. These were the names given by the Greeks and Romans to that impalpable omnipotence which frustrated all human will and effort, which led all human deeds to results quite other than those intended, that irresistible force which has since then been called providence, predestination, etc. This mysterious force has slowly taken on a more palpable form, and for this we may thank the rule of the bourgeoisie and capital, the first system of class rule which seeks to find clarity about the causes and conditions of its own existence, thus opening the door to the recognition of the inevitability of its own imminent fall. Fate, providence – that we know now – consists of the economic conditions under which production and exchange take place, and these combine today in the world market.