The latter is the idea that the physical world- with all its constraints and potentially life-altering elements-is responsible for the make-up of each existing culture.
Contrast this with the idea that we (humans) create our own situations through the power of thought, socialization, and all forms of information circulation.
However, cultural determinists do not necessarily disagree with Marx's view of social class as an important determining factor as well.
Romanticism had a large element of cultural determinism, and also shows interest in romantic behaviors drawn from writers such as Goethe, Fichte, August and Friedrich Schlegel.
In modern conservatism, individuals such as commentator Patrick Buchanan and economist Robert Barro argue that cultural norms determine the behavior of political arrangements.