The paper is intended as a contribution to historical materialism. The authors are not interested in any historical-philosophical, still less in exegetical, problems. They believe that this intellectual tradition is relevant for understanding the social transformations ongoing contemporarily and for coping with practical problems to which these transformations give rise. Among the most important changes there are those labeled as “globalization” and the rise and development of “knowledge society” and “information civilization.” If one adopts this stance, one should admit that (...) the problems of space and culture deserve special attention. Discussing the ways these problems could be tackled in historical materialism, the authors use the ideas of Leszek Nowak and Immanuel Wallerstein. (shrink)