Abstract: Marx's theory of “Three Forms” on the development of human society fully revealed the multistep progress of civilization. Looking back to the theory of the state of nature from the modern Enlightenment， there also existed the views of social progress from low to high. The comparison of the two views on social progress showed that the theory of the state of nature is only based on the dogmatism of reason when judging social progress， the measure of social progress remains in the return of morality， and the exploration of the trends of social progress is shackled in the eternal nature. However， the theory of “Three Forms”， taking practice as the logical starting point， judges social progress according to the levels of productivity， measures social progress with the evolution of production relationships as the core， and explores the trends of social progress from the whole of the world history. Thus， the change of forms based on historical consciousness goes beyond the narrow view of the bourgeois scholars.

Key words: Marx; social progress; state of nature; theory of “Three Forms”