Feudalism, Capitalism, Socialism
STUDY BLOCKS: POLITICAL ECONOMY, HISTORY
Image: The Capital IX (Colonialisme), Yuksel Arslan
Summary.
What were the historical conditions for the formation of capitalism? How are the histories of racism and gender discrimination related to the history of capitalism? How can studying Marx and Marxism arm us to fight racism and misogyny?
This class covers the "secret" of primitive accumulation, and the historical formation of capital, of the working class, the capitalist class, and the capitalist state. It covers the immense violence of colonialism, genocide, and slavery that shaped the transition from feudalism to capitalism, and we encourage you to think about contemporary dimensions of this violence.
Study Materials.
“The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women” from Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici
In Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici argues that the social position of women and control over their bodies changed drastically in the transition from feudalism to capitalism. For capitalism to exist the working class had to be created and this meant deep transformations in the lives and the society of those who would compose that emerging new social class. In this chapter, Federici discusses these transformations and the specific way in which they affected women.
“The Secret of Primitive Accumulation”, Ch. 26 of Capital by Karl Marx
In this chapter of Capital, Marx begins a discussion on primitive accumulation that he will continue over the next seven chapters. Here, he is arguing against liberal thinkers such as Adam Smith that claim that the first capitalists had the means to take ownership of the means of production due to years of hard work, sacrifice and saving. Instead, Marx argues, dispossession of the working classes so as to separate the majority from the means to survive, explains the primitive or primary accumulation that is necessary for the development of capitalism.
The Accumulation Process in the Period of Globalisation, Prabhat Patnaik
[VIDEO] “Witchcraft, Gender and Marxism”, Philosophy Tube
In this 28 minute video, YouTube channel Philosophy Tube presents Silvia Federici’s discussion on the role of the European witch hunt in the development of capitalism.
[VIDEO] “Primitive or Original Accumulation”, Anti-Capitalist Chronicles by David Harvey
David Harvey discusses primitive accumulation according to Marx.
[FILM] Life and Debt
[GRAPHIC NOVEL] Robin Hood: People's Outlaw and Forest Hero: A Graphic Guide