Abstract
This paper explores the Marxist concept of primitive accumulation and its relationship to capitalist development. Primitive accumulation occurs as a historical process before the complete emergence of capitalism as the dominant mode of production. Primitive accumulation is distinguished from other forms of exploitation employed by capitalist societies to spread capitalism into non-capitalist regions. An exploration of different interpretations of primitive accumulation within Marxist theory highlights the transition from primary accumulation to capitalist accumulation in specific contexts. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted nature of primitive accumulation and its significance in the development of capitalism. It argues that many uses of primitive accumulation in the present context are erroneous.
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Notes
It is necessary to clear up some difficulties of translation. The crucial expression, “so-called primitive accumulation,” is an English translation of Marx’s German: sogenannte ursprüngliche Akkumulation. The translation of Akkumulation as accumulation is unproblematic because the words are cognates. The pejorative sogenannte (so-called) and the ambiguous ursprüngliche require explanation, however. “Sogenannte” expresses Marx’s skepticism toward earlier concepts of prior accumulation used in non-Marxist political economy to explain the origin and nature of capital. This usage shows that Marx’s discussion of primitive accumulation is more than a chronicle of selected pre-capitalist atrocities; it is a critique of the prevailing theory of capitalism’s origin. Capital is above all a critique of bourgeois political economy, of bourgeois theory and the chapters on primitive accumulation are no exception. “Sogenannte” expresses his skepticism toward primitive accumulation as it was used in non-Marxist political economy to promote pseudo-historical myths about the origin and nature of capital.
The rendering of ursprüngliche as ‘primitive’ is the most problematic aspect of the translation. To Anglophone readers, the word’s pejorative load may connote crudeness, coarseness, barbarousness, and backwardness; moreover, ‘primitive’ is often used to evoke horror at the conditions of prehistoric human life (e.g., the image of the primitive caveman or ape man) or to express contempt for people living in pre-modern conditions. To focus only on brutality and degradation would miss the point, however. If Marx’s sole aim had been to jeer or evoke horror and disgust at capital’s crude and brutal origins, he could have used the German primitive. He used ursprüngliche instead, which can translate as ‘original.’ In this context, it is a more accurate translation to replace ‘primitive accumulation’ with ‘original accumulation,’ meaning an historical process in which the emphasis is not on brutality per se, but rather on the temporal position and role of the process in the birth of capital and capitalism.
The problematic translation of ursprüngliche is not found in all English editions of Marx. The Nicolaus translation of the Grundrisse (1993: 319), for example, speaks of ‘original’ rather than ‘primitive’ accumulation:
The third moment to be developed in the formation of the concept of capital is its original accumulation [ursprüngliche Akkumulation]... This accumulation, necessary for capital to come into being, which is already included in its concept as presupposition – as a moment – is to be distinguished essentially from the accumulation of capital which has already become capital, where there must already be capitals.
In Marx’s work ‘original accumulation’ refers to socio-economic developments that preceded the birth of capital but nonetheless created conditions necessary for the rise of capital and capitalist society.
An important exception is Resnick and Wolff (1979), who stressed the combination of internal class conflict and colonialism as drivers of primitive accumulation and the capitalist transition.
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The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable comments of the anonymous reviewers and the excellent discussions on this topic with Taryn Fivek.
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Pena, D., Wendland-Liu, J. Everything is Primitive Accumulation?. Fudan J. Hum. Soc. Sci. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-023-00396-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-023-00396-8