Category Archives: Historical Materialism

Caliban and the Witch

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Federici, Silvia. 2004. Caliban and the Witch: Women, The Body, and Primitive Accumulation. Brooklyn, NY: Autonomedia. It’s become almost cliché to say that taking into account gender—and other forms of social difference—makes a real difference for how we build our … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Gender, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Primitive Accumulation, Race & Ethnicity, Science & Tech., The Body, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

The New Imperialism

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Harvey, David. 2003. The New Imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. This is the last of David Harvey’s books that I’ll read (or re-read) for a while, and I’ve already reviewed some of his other books here, so I’ll pretty much … Continue reading →

Posted in David Harvey, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | Comments Off on The New Imperialism

Primitive Accumulation: A Reinterpretation

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

De Angelis, Massimo. 1999. “Marx’s Theory of Primitive Accumulation: A Suggested Reinterpretation.” University of East London. Available online. De Angelis makes a distinction between those that view Marx’s “primitive accumulation” as “historical”—a one-off, big-bang of capitalism—and those that understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Critique, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Scale, Spatiality | Comments Off on Primitive Accumulation: A Reinterpretation

Some Aspects of the Southern Question

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Gramsci, Antonio. 1926. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question.” From Antonio Gramsci: Pre-Prison Writings (1994), edited by Richard Bellamy and translated by Virgina Cox. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question” is an incredible essay. Antonio Gramsci was arrested as he … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Antonio Gramsci, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Land, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Power, Spatiality, The State | Comments Off on Some Aspects of the Southern Question

The Origin of Capitalism

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Wood, Ellen Meiksins. 2002. The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View. London: Verso. Ellen Meiksins Wood critiques accounts about the origin of capitalism—across the political spectrum, including Marxist’s—for overlooking the begging questions about what really drove the emergence of capitalism. … Continue reading →

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Class Dynamics of Agrarian Change

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Bernstein, Henry. 2010. Class Dynamics of Agrarian Change. Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press Drawing from the Journal of Agrarian Change, Henry Bernstein defines agrarian political economy as investigating “the social relations and dynamics of production and reproduction, property and power in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Gender, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Political Economy, Primitive Accumulation | 1 Comment

Theory of Peasant Cooperatives

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Chayanov, Alexander. 1991. The Theory of Peasant Cooperatives. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. [Intro and pp. 1-52.] In these chapters, Alexander Chayanov revisits some of the same ground as Lenin and Kautsky, but he does so with a much more … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Land, Marxism, Political Economy | 2 Comments

The Agrarian Question

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Kautsky, Karl. 1988. The Agrarian Question, Vol I. London: Zwan Publications. Karl Kautsky’s classic The Agrarian Question explores the impact of capitalism on agrarian society, role of agriculture in the course of capitalist development, and the political role (or lack … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Marxism, Political Economy | 10 Comments

The Development of Capitalism in Russia

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Lenin, V.I. 1977. The Development of Capitalism in Russia. Moscow: Progress Publishers. [Ch. 1-4] The progression of these four chapters is as follows: first, Lenin reviews some theoretical issues of political economy around the development of a home market in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Political Economy | 3 Comments

The Great Arch

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Corrigan, Philip, and Derek Sayer. 1985. The Great Arch: English State Formation as a Cultural Revolution. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. I had high hopes for this book. First, because I’m a big fan of Derek Sayer’s other work and, secondly, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Critique, Gender, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Law, Max Weber, Nation/Nationalism, Political Economy, Power, The State | Comments Off on The Great Arch