Category Archives: Historical Materialism

Althusser, Gramsci and Machiavelli – Us and Us

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Teo Ballvé

Debate in the geograsphere. Jon Beasley-Murray published a riff on Louis Althusser’s Machiavelli and Us saying he detects a post-hegemonic streak in Althusser’s take on Machiavelli with an emphasis on the aleatory, contingent, and the conjunctural rather than a “telos of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antonio Gramsci, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Niccolo Machiavelli, Power, The State | 6 Comments

In Conversation: E.P. Thompson and C.L.R. James

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

An interesting conversation recorded sometime around 1982 between two of my favorite historians: EP Thompson and CLR James. The most fascinating part of the 50-minute conversation/interview comes toward the end, beginning at about minute 43′ in which they start talking … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Materialism, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Post-Colonial, Race & Ethnicity | Comments Off on In Conversation: E.P. Thompson and C.L.R. James

Neil Smith and Eric Hobsbawm

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Teo Ballvé

Like so many others I was saddened to hear about Neil Smith’s untimely passing. People who knew him have all mentioned what a kind, warm, down to earth, and funny person he was—in this, I hope I follow his footsteps. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bandits, Development, Historical Materialism, Illegality, Marxism | Comments Off on Neil Smith and Eric Hobsbawm

Violence in Developing Countries

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Cramer, Christopher. 2007. Violence in Developing Countries: War, Memory, Progress. Indiana University Press. Cramer’s book is a strident polemic and methodical critique against widely accepted explanations for contemporary violence. His critique is mainly geared at liberal interpretations of war in … Continue reading →

Posted in Frontiers, Historical Materialism, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Marxism, Political Economy, Violence | Comments Off on Violence in Developing Countries

A Century of Revolution

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Grandin, Greg and Gilbert M. Joseph, Eds. 2010. A Century of Revolution: Insurgent and Counterinsurgent Violence During Latin America’s Long Cold War. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Selections] I wish I’d had more time to devote to A Century of … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Materialism, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Nation/Nationalism, Peace, Post-Colonial, Power, Scale, Sovereignty, Terror, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

On the Trail of Latin American Bandits

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Joseph, Gilbert M. 1990. “On the Trail of Latin American Bandits: A Reexamination of Peasant Resistance,” Latin American Research Review 25(3): 7-53; & Various Authors. 1991. “Debate on Banditry in Latin America,” Latin American Research Review 26(1): 145-174. Gil Joseph … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Dialectics, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on On the Trail of Latin American Bandits

Albion’s Fatal Tree

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Hay, Douglas et al. 1975. Albion’s Fatal Tree: Crime and Society in Eighteenth-Century England. New York: Pantheon Books. In the preface of Albion’s Fatal Tree the authors explain that their main concern is the law in eighteenth century England as … Continue reading →

Posted in Bandits, City, Forests, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Science & Tech., Terror, The Body, The Sea, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

Whigs and Hunters

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Thompson, E.P. 1975. Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act. New York: Pantheon Books. EP Thompson’s classic Whigs and Hunters: The Origins of the Black Act traces the confluence of property, law, and crime in a transitional moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Forests, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Power, Spatiality, Terror, The State, Violence | 4 Comments

Moral Economy of the Crowd

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Thompson, E.P. 1993. Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Popular Culture. New York: New Press. [Ch. 4 & 5] E.P. Thompson’s essay “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd” questions the usual portrayal of eighteenth century food riots as “spasmodic … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, City, Historical Materialism, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, The State, Violence | 7 Comments

The Invention of Capitalism

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Perelman, Michael. The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Intro, Ch. 1-6] Michael Perelman shows in The Invention of Capitalism how classical political economists were practically and ideologically … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Forests, Historical Materialism, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, The State, Violence | Comments Off on The Invention of Capitalism