Theory As History: Essays On Modes Of Production And Exploitation: Historical Materialism, Volume 25

(Paperback, First Trade Paper Edition)

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The essays collected within this text engage with the Marxist notion of a 'mode of production', the emergence of the medieval relations of production, the origins of capitalism, the dichotomy between free and unfree labour and essays in agrarian history. Together, the insightful and thought provoking texts within Theory as History demonstrate the importance of reintegrating theory within history and of bringing history back into historical materialism. Meticulously grounded in evidence, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in capitalism and Marxism.

Reviews

"From the impact of slavery, the rise of the poor taking control, and the role of other philosophies and faiths impacting the discussion, Theory as History is a unique way to discuss history, economics, and the people behind it, a core addition to any community library history collection." Midwest Book Review "The great merit of this volume is that it establishes an approach for [the debates about the nature and origin of capitalism] that is deeply theoretical, but at the same time refreshingly unhampered by the kind of doctrinaire attachment to a perceived (and often misread) orthodoxy that plagued so much of historical materialism for the past century. It is scholarly, without being purely academic ... Banajis book deserves to be read and debated as one of the starting points for a new wave of Marxist historiography, still in the process of liberating itself from the ghost of its formalist past." Pepijn Brandon, International Socialism "Banajis seemingly idiosyncratic but in fact highly sophisticated and original approach to historical analysis provides not only a welcome stimulus and a challenge for scholars today, but also will give them plenty to think about for many years to come" Marcel van der Linden, research director of the International Institute of Social History Theory as History is a book written at the summit of a lifetimes engagement with issues of Marxist theory and practice ... Banajis work demonstrates that no aspect of human history is irrelevant to the present. His scholarship shows immense skill, depth and range [proving] it is not the Marxist method that has been at fault, but the dominance of non-Marxist theory and method in the minds of Marxist." Counterfire
"From the impact of slavery, the rise of the poor taking control, and the role of other philosophies and faiths impacting the discussion, Theory as History is a unique way to discuss history, economics, and the people behind it, a core addition to any community library history collection." Midwest Book Review "The great merit of this volume is that it establishes an approach for [the debates about the nature and origin of capitalism] that is deeply theoretical, but at the same time refreshingly unhampered by the kind of doctrinaire attachment to a perceived (and often misread) orthodoxy that plagued so much of historical materialism for the past century. It is scholarly, without being purely academic ... Banajis book deserves to be read and debated as one of the starting points for a new wave of Marxist historiography, still in the process of liberating itself from the ghost of its formalist past." Pepijn Brandon, International Socialism "Banajis seemingly idiosyncratic but in fact highly sophisticated and original approach to historical analysis provides not only a welcome stimulus and a challenge for scholars today, but also will give them plenty to think about for many years to come" Marcel van der Linden, research director of the International Institute of Social History Theory as History is a book written at the summit of a lifetimes engagement with issues of Marxist theory and practice ... Banajis work demonstrates that no aspect of human history is irrelevant to the present. His scholarship shows immense skill, depth and range [proving] it is not the Marxist method that has been at fault, but the dominance of non-Marxist theory and method in the minds of Marxist." Counterfire

Author Bio

Jairus Banaji spent most of his academic life at Oxford. He has been a Research Associate in the Department of Development Studies, SOAS, University of London, for the past several years. He is the author of Agrarian Change in Late Antiquity (Oxford, 2007).