Marx: Colonialism, Class and Capitalism

Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, which was then part of the Prussian Rhineland (it became part of the unified German Empire in 1871), and died in London in 1883. He was forced to move in response to political persecution, first to Paris in 1843, and then to Brussels and Cologne, before finally settling in London in 1849 following the 1848 revolutions in mainland Europe.

The latter revolutions reflected the social dislocations brought about by the transformation of agriculture and the early development of industrial production. They also reflected the political upheavals of the breakdown of old, absolutist regimes and the rise of new political institutions embodying elements of popular sovereignty, especially after the French Revolution of 1789.

Readings

• Bhambra, Gurminder K. and John Holmwood 2021. ‘Marx: Colonialism, Capitalism and Class’ in Colonialism and Modern Social Theory. Cambridge: Polity
• Harris, Abram 1939. ‘Pure Capitalism and the Disappearance of the Middle Class,’ Journal of Political Economy 47 (3): 328-56
• Lubasz, Heinz 1976. ‘Marx’s Initial Problematic: The Problem of Poverty,’ Political Studies 24 (1): 24–42
• Marx, Karl 1973 [1853]. ‘The Future Results of British Rule in India’ in Karl Marx and Frederick Engels Collected Works, Volume 12. London: Lawrence and Wishart
• Marx, Karl 1976 [1867]. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1. Harmondsworth, Penguin
• Pradella, Lucia 2013. ‘Imperialism and Capitalist Development in Marx’s Capital,’ Historical Materialism 21 (2): 117-47