A critical review of marxist historiography on transitions: antiquity, feudalism, capitalism

Abstract

The main objective of the present thesis is to locate the question of historical transformation, in the form of a transition from one mode of production into another, in a framework comprised of the notions of structural contradiction and crisis, transformation of quantity into quality and reading history backwards. To this end, this study focuses on the historical problems of the transition to capitalism and to feudalism, respectively, from a comparative perspective with the hope that the similarities and the differences between the mechanisms of change behind each historical transition may offer some insight into the problematique at hand. The analysis is based on critical reading and detailed discussion of the secondary sources, and predominantly Marxist and Marxian literature, on these historical transitions. Accordingly, a discussion of the Marxist/Marxian historiography on the question of transition in relation to the broader context of the political and ideological environments constitutes the second layer of analysis. In addition to the main historical focus, some contemporary extensions as well as political implications of these debates are also discussed. This thesis, therefore, aims to point out some new perspectives from which it is possible to approach the problem.