Macro-historical

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Macro-historical analysis seeks out large, long-term trends in world history, searching for ultimate patterns through a comparison of proximate details. For example, a macro-historical study might examine Japanese feudalism and European feudalism in order to decide whether feudal structures are an inevitable outcome given certain conditions. Macro-historical studies often "assume that macro-historical processes repeat themselves in explainable and understandable ways" [1].

Examples of macro-historical analysis include Karl Marx's assertion that all history can be explained through economics and class struggle, and Arnold J. Toynbee's historical synthesis in explaining the rise and fall of civilizations.