![]() Based on his study of Indian civilisation in particular, Marx put forward the “Asiatic mode of production” as something distinct from ancient slavery and feudalism, and marking an earlier stage in the development of the productive forces. Marx and Engels both devoted painstaking attention to the study of the history and development of many societies around the world, but as their main focus was the capitalist system and its development out of feudal Europe, the question of the nature and development of non-European societies has continued to raise questions and debate. Considering that, without this understanding, the conscious, socialist transformation of society is impossible, the need to study history should therefore be felt keenly by any Marxist. In fact, by rendering a scientific understanding of history truly possible for the first time, it marks the beginning and not the end of this endeavour. ![]() This epoch-marking discovery did not however relieve us of the need to actually study history in all its variety and contradiction. Applying the principles of dialectical materialism to the history and development of society, Marx disposed of all the fantastical notions to which history had formerly been forced to conform and placed our understanding of society, for the first time, on a real, scientific foundation: “real individuals, their activity and the material conditions under which they live”. The ideas of Karl Marx represent a fundamental turning point in the history of human thought. However, a close inspection of this theory, its method and origins reveals less a development of Marxism than a retreat from it, in the face of attacks from its reactionary opponents in the universities. In this article, Josh Holroyd discusses the so-called Tributary Mode of Production, which has gained traction in academic circles as an alleged ‘update’ to Marx’s conception of historical development.
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